Can My Son Evict Me from the House?

QUESTION
Can my son evict me from the family house? My wife transferred the house to our son. I am 68 years old, my pension is €380. While I was working, my wife collected the pension. I have had a heart attack and now need money for medication. We have lived here for 35 years, and he is threatening to cancel my permanent residence.

ANSWER:
Given that – as you state – the family house originally belonged to you and your wife, and was later transferred to your son, who is now threatening to evict you, it is important first to determine whether, in addition to the contract transferring ownership (e.g., a donation agreement) by which you transferred ownership of your house to your son, there was also a contract establishing an easement (right in rem).

Such a contract is very often concluded in cases where parents donate the property in which they live to their child. By means of a contract establishing an easement — created as a personal right belonging exclusively to the parents (as the “beneficiaries of the easement”) — the parents acquire the right to use the donated property even after transferring ownership to their child, and this right lasts until their death. Such an easement contract protects them in the event that the new owner decides to evict them.

Registration of permanent residence is only of an administrative nature and does not create any rights to the property or to its owner (§ 3(3) of Act No. 253/1998 Coll.). It is important to note that the municipality, town, or city district maintaining the residence records “shall cancel the permanent residence record upon the application of the building owner or unit owner, in respect of a citizen who has no right to use the building or its part” (§ 7(1)(f) of Act No. 253/1998 Coll.).

The law further specifies certain persons whose permanent residence cannot be cancelled in this way (e.g., a dependent child, spouse), but this exception does not apply to the parents of the property owner.

The applicant would also have to submit to the residence authority a document showing the termination or restriction of your right to use the property (it is assumed that the donation agreement would suffice, since by it you effectively waived not only ownership but also the right to use the property). Again, this could have been avoided if you were able to prove that you still have an independent right to use the property (e.g., based on a contract establishing an easement), meaning that you are not living in your son’s house merely due to his “goodwill” and continued “tolerance” of your presence.

See also: Can I Cancel My Daughter’s / Son’s Permanent Residence?