Sold house, nowhere to go...monthly rental?

pinkteapot

I found my private landlord in the local paper; they had a section for rental adverts. With any private landlord, have a good chat with them when viewing the property. Mine had a few properties and seemed very on-the-ball with rental procedures, repair process etc. Picking a private landlord can be a bit of a minefield.

As others have said, I don't think a 6 month tenancy is really a problem. (And 6 months is the legal minimum for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) in the UK; the standard form of tenancy). You need to find a house you like and even if that happens straight after your sale (not that likely), the purchase process can easily take 3-4 months. It's unlikely you'll end up with the rental period overlapping the purchase by much.

Someone more knowledgeable may come along soon but I don't think it's possible to have an AST of less than six months, and legally an AST is the tenancy form that gives you all the standard rights as a tenant. That's why minimum term is usually six months (some landlords ask for 12).

Going from rented into a purchased property is brilliant. We did this in the summer. We moved in two weeks after completion which gave us time to get the carpets cleaned while the place was empty, get some furniture delivered, buy bits and pieces we didn't have (going from flat to house). I've done this once before as well and used the overlap period to re-paint! So much easier to do when the place is empty. It also means you aren't stressing on completion day if you get the keys late as you don't have to actually move in that day.

sonastin

pinkteapot wrote: »

Someone more knowledgeable may come along soon but I don't think it's possible to have an AST of less than six months, and legally an AST is the tenancy form that gives you all the standard rights as a tenant. That's why minimum term is usually six months (some landlords ask for 12).

As G_M says, you CAN have an AST of less than 6 months but LL&T law prevents the LL from giving you notice to leave before you've been there for 6 months. So you would have the option to go at the end of the tenancy but the LL couldn't ask you to leave. On that basis, LLs prefer to even things up and ask for a min of 6 months to match their position.

RAS

Nuttyneddy wrote: »

Whereabouts in the country are you? If you are in a holiday area you might be able to find a winter let (holiday accommodation that's let out much more cheaply during the off-season). I've done this myself before (SW England) and I rented it on a week-by-week basis.

I would have thought this might be an option, particularly as Easter is not until late April.

Check if you could get a winter let from early January for three month, although would that give you enough time to buy a house?

mlz1413

6 months isn't that long, it can easily take 3 months to do the legal side of a purchase which only gives you 3 months to find somewhere you like.

After the inital 6 months the contract can go onto periodic which allows you to give 1 months notice (your LL has to give 2 months)

Look for private LL's in the local paper - you could even put a wanted advert in the local paper too!

tbs624

pinkteapot wrote: »

I found my private landlord in the local paper; they had a section for rental adverts. With any private landlord, have a good chat with them when viewing the property. Mine had a few properties and seemed very on-the-ball with rental procedures, repair process etc. Picking a private landlord can be a bit of a minefield.

Many Councils run an accreditation scheme for private LLs so its worth checking with the private sector housing officer. The more "professional" LLs tend to be signed up to a LL association and/or have attended training courses etc - always worth checking if there is a local affiliated LL assoc in your town and seeking contacts via them,

pinkteapot wrote: »

As others have said, I don't think a 6 month tenancy is really a problem. (And 6 months is the legal minimum for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) in the UK; the standard form of tenancy)........
but I don't think it's possible to have an AST of less than six months, and legally an AST is the tenancy form that gives you all the standard rights as a tenant. That's why minimum term is usually six months (some landlords ask for 12).

Not so - an AST *can* legally be for any term to which the parties agree, but the LL (as others have pointed out) cannot seek repossession via a S21 notice before an initial 6 months is up. Some experienced LLs may be happy to offer you a 3 month AST, rather than have a property sitting empty.

RenovationMan

need_help_please wrote: »

A six month let wouldn't necessarily be a problem as once christmas is over, it will take time to find somewhere and for all the legal work etc to happen, it may take 6 months anyway...

What s/he said.

Even when I was first time buyer, buying a vacant possession and desperate to move, it still took 3 months to sort out all the paperwork. Sit back and enjoy watching houseprices fall while you take your time to find the perfect home.

Grimbal

Just need double confirmation here (confusion may be due to over indulgence in sugary snacks whilst snow bound at home).

So, in words of one syllable or less please: You can, as a tenant, ask for an AST of 3 months, but even after the 3 months are up, the LL can't ask you to leave for another 3? We're in the same situation as the OP and had considered approaching one of the properties that were on for both sale & rent for the reasons above, but were worried that the LL/LA may ask us to leave a month after we'd moved in

Brb

Grimbal wrote: »

Just need double confirmation here (confusion may be due to over indulgence in sugary snacks whilst snow bound at home).

So, in words of one syllable or less please: You can, as a tenant, ask for an AST of 3 months, but even after the 3 months are up, the LL can't ask you to leave for another 3? We're in the same situation as the OP and had considered approaching one of the properties that were on for both sale & rent for the reasons above, but were worried that the LL/LA may ask us to leave a month after we'd moved in

Well they can ask but they wouldn't get.

yakyak

Thanks for all of the replies. Interesting to know that others are in a similar situation.

As for where I am, I'm not that far from Blackpool, so there may well be some options to be explored.

One other query though - what should I do regarding change of address? I know the Royal Mail can forward post on, but should I be changing all the normal addresses such as driving licence etc?

I suppose the answer is to change them, but I'd be changing them twice in a short space of time.

theartfullodger

Grimbal wrote: »

Just need double confirmation here (confusion may be due to over indulgence in sugary snacks whilst snow bound at home).

So, in words of one syllable or less please: You can, as a tenant, ask for an AST of 3 months, but even after the 3 months are up, the LL can't ask you to leave for another 3? We're in the same situation as the OP and had considered approaching one of the properties that were on for both sale & rent for the reasons above, but were worried that the LL/LA may ask us to leave a month after we'd moved in

You can ask.. you can get... but not very often..

An AST can, I think be for the initial fixed term of between 1 week & 3 years before you need to do anything strange.. However the problem is not the tenancy... the problem is that if tenant moves in then decides, for whatever or no reason not to move out when agreed (say 1 week or 3 months...) but keeps paying the rent the Landlord cannot even start legal proceedings to get them out until 6 months after the start of the tenancy...

So, most LLs say 6months min. But some may be flexible & trusting...

Who to blame?? The government that brought in S21 of the Housing Act 1988 - that woman, Thatcher...

Cheers!

Artful