Sitting tenant?

spirit

I have a problem. The house I'm tying to buy has a tenant in whose agreement apparently came to an end today. the selling agents told me this at the point that I put my offer in, but was not a problem because my own sale wasn't that far ahead at the time. Meanwhile this tenant - who is pregnant and with 2 other children - partner has hopped it. so she wants a council house and the only way to get it is to be evicted. She's stopped paying rent - the selling agents also happen to manage the letting for the landlord - have been advised all along by the council to not let it hold up the sale. then this week I've been chased hard by my buyers and the chain behind, to exchange contracts on my sale. to now try and evict the tenant is going to take 6-8 weeks apparently? anyone any experience of this?

i've looked around at other property and offered on 1 but i think the owner is either greedy or thought he'd try and capitalise on my situation and wanted more than I think its worth. the other alternative is for the chain behind me to pay my storage and temp accommodation costs if they want me out? Any thoughts or advice on this too please?

lynzpower

the owner of the property needs to evict them, not you. If you are buying with "vacant possession" then its the vendor who needs to stick to thier side of the bargain. they shouold really have started eviction procedures when the place was on the market IMHO.

I have experinece from the perspective of trying to rehouse parents in a similar situation, the council could give the family somewhere to live now to prevent any hold up, they can put their money where thier mouth is if they want to

spirit

thanks Lynzpower,

yes the landlord has been advised accordingly by the council and her letting agents. It's just me that's piggy in the middle waiting for this to happen and not having the time to do that in case I lose my buyers.

plane_boy2000

If I was further down the chain there is no way I would pay your storage fees to get you out! The fact you cant move is your problem not theirs!

I guess you have 2 choices - sit back and wait for the eviction to take place (sound like big brother?) or keep looking for something else. If property prices are stable in your area you could rent for 6 months while still looking around - you would have cash in the bank and be able to keep the chain short.

clutton_2

getting tenants out can be a long winded process, but it is not your problem - it is that of the vendor. Many councils will rehouse folks on production of an eviction notice, but some will wait for the court order to come through, which could be 3-4-5-6 months later, depending on how stubborn the tenants are, and how long the bailliffs waiting list is.

Alleycat

lynzpower wrote:

I have experinece from the perspective of trying to rehouse parents in a similar situation, the council could give the family somewhere to live now to prevent any hold up, they can put their money where thier mouth is if they want to

Sorry, not being overly constructive to the OP, but just had to pick up on this point. Most councils don't have a pot of keys sat behind the counter waiting for soon to be homeless people to walk in. As someone who advises clients to wait until a possession order has been sought before I place them in temporary accommodation, I would love to be able to rehouse people instantaniously but it just isn't doable. This tenant could quite easily have been advised to remain in the property until they are legally required to move out, whilst still having priority to be rehoused. Though withholding rent certainly won't do them any favours as if it gets to over 8 weeks arrears, the current owner can apply for accelerated possession.

lynzpower

If the council is encouraging the OP to proceed without delay though, what does the council have in mind. I do agree Alleycat that there is pressure on homelessness services, however, my LA HAVE been known to provide temp accom without eviction taking place as in this example.

spirit

Hi a,,

I got to speak to the selling agent last night, they are still being advised by the council to get to the point of exchange with me and to then contact them. we are at that point now of course so the agent is going to speak to the owners solicitor on Monday to find out how far he's got with the eviction notice. the daft thing is, the tenant really wants to go, she's just playing the system to get a council house.

I've not heard any more from the agents of the 2nd house I saw. I thought they may have realised they'd just looked a gift horse in the mouth and come back to me but on reflection, if they get no other offers this weekend - they might come back on Monday. Either way, its out of my control this weekend so I'm taking a chill pill and will just wait it out for the weekend.