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ognum

You could of course sell the flat with a tenant in situ, in order to do this you really do need to raise t he rent because the current figures really do not stack up for a landlord purchaser.

Consider raising the rent and then selling with the tenant in situ.

terryw

ognum wrote: »

You could of course sell the flat with a tenant in situ, in order to do this you really do need to raise t he rent because the current figures really do not stack up for a landlord purchaser.

Consider raising the rent and then selling with the tenant in situ.

Worth considering obviously but the downside is that the potential number of potential buyers is limited to BTL landlords.

ognum

jmt wrote: »

I feel that I am in a no win situation at the moment. My tenant will not be happy with anything I do. I am sure that it will go to an investor; the one opposite has (according to selling agents). I think I would prefer to sell with vacant possession as I would like to clean and paint before potential buyers view. I am also tempted with part-ex with a large developer near my home, but they need 28 day exchange which I could do if it was empty.

I think you need to look at this another way, you are in a win situation because you make the decisions, it's your choice if you sell let or wait until the tenant goes and sell unlet. it's your choice whether to part exchange or sell out right.

It is actually your tenant who is in the no win situation because his life has to change come what may!

I am a landlord and I think we should understand that we are in a priveliged position, we have homes of our own and enough to own the houses of others. Your cup is actually more than half ful your tenants isn't.

Fire_Fox

Was your section 21 issued before or after the tenant took occupation, before or after the deposit was lodged on one the three schemes? IMO reserve it, consider having a solicitor prepare it so that there are no errors. Please stop communicating with your tenant by text, that is for your mates.

I hate two and four they both sound like threats not options, and you cannot require your tenant to serve notice to quit. Two seems to be implying you want the tenant out faster than the standard timeframe, so could be bordering on harassment under the Protection from Eviction Act which I am sure is not your aim.

Three well the tenant has the right to quiet enjoyment so could be awkward. One might be attractive if you give the tenant a bit more time to get their finances in place - you are asking them to decide in under a month! And if you offer them a reduced price take into consideration there will be mo estate agents fees and no missed rent. Look at more than the sold price of one property when estimating the value.

If you wish to increase the rent before sure to serve a proper section 13 notice not just a letter unless you have a clause about rent increases in your AST.

BobQ

jmt wrote: »

.

Art - a Section 21 was issued by the letting agents on the day they moved in, but this expired. I can assure you that all legal requirements are complied with and the deposit is held in my DPS account. The 'prescribed information' was issued with my 'welcome letter' where I detail all of my contact details; I have proof of posting for this..

I note your reference to a letting agent - previously had assumed you were acting for yourself. You may find that if your tenant wants to buy the letting agent may be entitled to an agency fee as would an estate agent.

You seem a reasonable landlord who is not in a hurry, I would consider dropping the tenants a letter saying that it would be more convenient for you if you could sell the property. I would not specify an exact date just let them know that you would hope to sell it in the Spring and that you wanted them to know this was your intention. Then ask if they are interested in principle in buying the property and if so would they let you know by the end of the year.

If they do not respond by then or say no you will have a way forward. I suspect most tenants would start looking for another place if they were not interested in buying.

If they are the sort of tenants who will force you to evict them, then this will happen either way. But if not, there is plenty of time to gve formal notice early in the new year and I suggest that it will be easier to sell in the Spring.

BobQ

jmt wrote: »

From my last visit, my tenant is well aware they are getting my property very cheap. They told me the last tenant downstairs was paying £450 pcm.

I will think about the situation for the next week or so and perhaps the best solution would be to write and advise a rent increase to £450 pcm from 28th Jan 2013 and leave it with them.

It does depend what you want to achieve from all this.

If you do not really want to sell just get a better rent then this is a plausible strategy. They may indeed just choose to leave and you can then decide what to do after that.

But if you definitely want to sell, I would consider whether increasing the rent by 30% just before you give notice to them might be counter productive in that they might (a) force you to evict them with all the expense and inconvenience involved. (b) refuse point blank to allow prospective buyers access.

You are in a strong position but there is no point in aggravating them!

tbs624

jmt wrote: »

Thanks for all your informative replies.

Although I want to sell, I am in no rush and don't want any confrontation or eviction as stress could cause problems and damage.

I will write to my tenant next week, explain that ideally we would like to sell, but are in no rush and that following our visit we require a rent review to £450 pcm. If I do not hear from them by rent day in December I will issue a Section 13 so that they will start paying the higher rate from end of Jan.

Don't forget that the T can challenge the proposed rent increase by asking for it to be reviewed by the local Rent Assessment Committee, under the RPTS. (Yes, you can obviously then take the decision to just serve notice as the first step towards eviction)

If I wanted a T to co-operate with viewings I wouldn't be looking for a hefty rent increase in the meantime.

Yorkie1

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Was your section 21 issued before or after the tenant took occupation, before or after the deposit was lodged on one the three schemes? IMO reserve it, consider having a solicitor prepare it so that there are no errors.

You have not answered FF's questions.

It is vital, legally, for you to have a) protected the deposit, and b) served in fully the prescribed information on the T, before a s.21 notice can be relied upon.

From your description, it sounds at least possible - if not probable - that your Ts moved in before both elements had taken place.

Therefore your initial s.21 is likely to be invalid for this reason and would have to be re-served.

Edit: I know you're trying not to aggravate or inflame the situation, but your suggestion to write a letter asking them to pay more, followed by a formal notice a month later if they don't comply, would get my back up as others have mentioned. Make your mind up what you want and do it professionally. You could always do a fluffy covering letter with the s.13 rent increase notice if you want.

Ulfar

Yorkie1 wrote: »

You have not answered FF's questions.

It is vital, legally, for you to have a) protected the deposit, and b) served in fully the prescribed information on the T, before a s.21 notice can be relied upon.

From your description, it sounds at least possible - if not probable - that your Ts moved in before both elements had taken place.

Therefore your initial s.21 is likely to be invalid for this reason and would have to be re-served.

Edit: I know you're trying not to aggravate or inflame the situation, but your suggestion to write a letter asking them to pay more, followed by a formal notice a month later if they don't comply, would get my back up as others have mentioned. Make your mind up what you want and do it professionally. You could always do a fluffy covering letter with the s.13 rent increase notice if you want.

I notice the OP still hasn't answered these vital questions.

If you are going to sell then give the tenant 2 months notice and sell.

Or

Send then the notice to up their rent. If they then give notice to leave you can either sell or rent at a higher price.

Whatever you do you are likely to have a void where no money is coming in, you are also going to annoy the tenant given that you are either going to be asking them to move out just after Christmas or increase their before Christmas.

Also to add take anything an estate agent or letting agent takes with a huge pile of salt.

Fire_Fox

jmt wrote: »

I have already made a comment to state that the S21 has expired.

AFAIK a properly served section 21 does not expire all you are saying is you may seek possession after that date, so that does not answer the questions.