Seller Refusing To Grant Vacant Possession

lou7603

Hi, I'm hoping someone will be able to give me some advice on this! We complete on our new house tomorrow and our seller is refusing to give vacant possession. She doesn't actually live in the house, she lives in elsewhere in the country and the house does not have anyone living there. She had a tenant in there and loads of stuff has been left behind. Furniture in the house, the loft is full and also the garage is waist high with black bags full of god knows what! The neighbours have informed us that there is a big rat problem because of the state of the garage. She is stating that she gave us permission to go into the house between exchange and completion to get the house cleared and cleaned and that we would have to bear the cost. We have refused to pay for it as why should we? The estate agent got a quote for her which is £700, so my solicitor has sent a letter to her solicitor saying that we will be witholding £700 of the money on completion. Her solicitors have come back and said their client will not agree to any retention being made and that we have to clear it at our own cost.

Where do we stand with this? Ultimately we need to move in there tomorrow but don't want all this stuff left in there. Can she refuse to complete if we withold the £700 ( plus any costs incurred by getting rid of the rats )or will she just have to accept it as she hasn't kept to the contract and given us vacant possession? If we don't withold the money so that we can complete can we then take her to the small claims court to get our money back?

Any advice gratefully recieved!

Thanks

Lou

DVardysShadow

lou7603 wrote: »

... Where do we stand with this? Ultimately we need to move in there tomorrow but don't want all this stuff left in there.

Vacant possession, as I understand it, means clear of previous occupiers and clear of all stuff not included in the sale.

So you need to take close look at your contract and the correspondence - eg fixtures and fittings form - incorporated into the contract. She may have incorporated some weasel words which abandons the stuff to you. The worst situation is that it is not her stuff, but belongs to her former tenant, and she has responsibilities under 'bailment', which will probably pass to you. You should not even clear the stuff unless she certifies that it is free of bailment. The £700 for clearance is the least of your worries.

lou7603

the tenant that was in there actually died and the council took 3 days to clear the house to the state it is in now. The sellers reasoning behind not clearing the house is that the tenant owed her lots of money for rent so why should she now pay to clear her stuff out.The solicitors sent a key undertaking to enable us to clean and clear the property between e&c but we didn't send it back as it is not down to us. They are saying that we agreed to clear the property. we didn't, the estate agent got a quote, she refused to pay for it, so we would have to arrange to clear it as we are moving in, but never at our own cost. She is the most unreasonable person I have ever had the misfortune to deal with!

DVardysShadow

Take advice from your solicitor as to how this could play out. She may have the upper hand if she has noting hanging on this sale. You on the other hand may well be forced to complete if you have to move out of your present place. I would be inclined to stick to my guns, depending on solicitor's advice.

poppysarah

There's hugely popular "storage wars", "auction wars" tv shows.

Advertise it for sale with a 3 minute peep into the garage and take the highest bid.

betmunch

I'd copy DVardy, stick to my guns, subject to your solicitor confirming you are ok contractually. You agreed vacant possession, she is not giving it as there are responsibilities attached to the items left behind

lou7603

can she refuse to complete though if we withold the money?

DVardysShadow

lou7603 wrote: »

can she refuse to complete though if we withold the money?

'The money' you are thinking of is £700. Her solicitors will probably refuse on her behalf. Subject to legal advice, get there first. State you will not complete unless she agrees to the £700 retention or clears the place. Unless you have nowhere to go.

Thrugelmir

Report the rat issue to Enviromental Health at the Council.

Meanwhile refuse to complete.

chappers

This should have been made clear at the point that contracts were exchanged.
If the contract stated vacant possesion then you could stick to your guns and refuse to complete until the property is truly vacant.
However if you have nowhere to go then you may well be forced to complete with the property in its current state.

G_M

Action: If using a solicitor, contact urgently and if not check yourself:
What does your contract say and what does the fixtures and fitings say? Usually they require the seller to give vacant possession, but this can be overwritten. And the F&F will show what stays - does it include the 'rubbish'?

Subject to the above, options:

1) refuse to Complete on grounds seller is not complying with contract. You withold all the Completing money and claim damages as set out in the contract usually a daily rate + costs (eg hotel /alternative accomodation etc. However you have to wait for your new home

2) Arrange to complete subject to a deduction from Completion price of.... £700? (costs to remove/store or remove dump the 'rubbish' You'll need seller to agree.

3) Complete as planned and then sue for your costs afterwards

4) Do nothing. Bite the bullet, Complete and pay to clear the property yourself - costs you, but you save the stress, and get to move in and move forward.