help : Sitting tenant !!

homeworker

I am looking to purchase a property but I am not looking to evict the sitting tenant but I am not too sure whether I can change her succession rights! Does anyone know where I could get advice on this !

thesaint

The shelter website would be the first point of call.
You need to find out what type of tenancy they have first.

theGrinch

with a sitting tenant you have two options beyond the obvious.

1. ride it out

2. offer them something to go

not ideal really. do you know what kind of tenancy she was on and for how long she has been there? basically the longer she has been there (and age) the more rights she will have.

homeworker

she has been living there for over 40 years , there has been no agreement. The lady who owned the property has died and we are wishing to buy the house but she lives in the majority of the house and she is 80 years old. Nobody knows what aggreement was taken out.

BobProperty

This is likely to be a protected tenancy and, as theGrinch says, you don't have many options. She's probably paying 7/6 a week rent too. You need serious heavy duty advice on tenancy succession in this situation. Landlord and property websites may help but you'd still need to run it passed a suitable solicitor too IMHO.

silvercar

was the property marketed for sale at an estate agency?

who owns the property?

chances are she has the right to remain their for the remainder of her days. the question is whether you could live in the remaining part of the house (is it self-contained?) The question you need answering is whether she has the right to install a relative to look after her and if this relative then succeeds to the sitting tenancy?

theGrinch

she will have very strong rights on two counts; time there and age. if she is a sitting tenant then you should be buying the property at a significant discount; typically 25% below market value and it could be more here as the space occupied is significant. People weigh this up against life expectancy tables (annuity tables) and arrive at costs and benefits of the purchase.

if you are buying this anywhere near market value, think twice!

I have dealt with sitting tenants before and they come in many shapes and forms but all know their rights.

some move onto without a fuss, some die in situ without a fuss (you need to make sure she cant pass on her sitting rights!), others will take money to move on from a few thousand to tens of thousands of pounds.

Have the existing owners had any discussions with her about moving on? I am sure they have but whether they will disclose it is another thing unless you remind them they are obliged to address questions.

The critical factor is the price you are paying.

homeworker

Thank you all for highlighting several issuses. I think I need to go back and talk to my solicitor to draw up a letter to the vendor. Unfortunatly so far my solictor has spoken with the other party's solictor and both have come to the conculsion that there is no aggreement. I am not too sure if I am allowed to amend this to highlight that there is no succession rights. The house is good price but comes with a serveral setbacks. 1. she occupies two floors therefore majority of the house 2) if and when she passes away there is major work to that side of the house and we could be talking 10 - 20 years.