Son goes to court to sell Surrey house mother lives in
A BC man went to the Supreme Court to force the sale of the home his mother lives in that is jointly owned by the two of them.
Rahim Ramzan Punjani works in the financial services industry and is his mother’s only son. His father passed away in 1992, and until recently, his mother lived in the Surrey home with his stepfather — until he also died last year.
The son recently separated from his partner, forcing him to sell two other properties that he owns. He told the court he couldn’t afford to continue maintaining the home his mother lives in, especially with a pricey roof replacement coming up, so he wanted to sell the home.
He argued he should be able to sell it even though both names appear on the title. He provided the downpayment and has been paying the mortgage installments, home insurance, maintenance costs, and other expenses associated with the home.
But his mother didn’t want the home sold. She argued that she should be viewed as the owner because when she and her second husband sold their previous house, they gave her son nearly half a million dollars, which he used to buy his two other properties.
She claimed that the money was a loan which hasn’t been repaid, though there was no formal documentation.
Judge grants sale of home
The BC court judge sided with the son, seeing “no practical alternative other than to grant the petitioner’s request.”
“The reality is that neither party has both the desire and the resources necessary to maintain the property. It would not be appropriate to require the petitioner to continue to pay the expenses on a home in which he does not live,” the judge wrote. “If neither party is willing and able to maintain the Property, then the respondent is almost inevitably going to have to move. She will face certain financial and emotional challenges irrespective of the outcome of this application.”
The mother currently lives in the home with two of her friends and has tenants in the basement. The son said she keeps the rent money and doesn’t send a portion to him.
The court granted an order for the property to be sold.
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