Incentive for tenants to leave early?

zappahey

martinthebandit wrote: »

If I was in the op position I would approach the tenants and explain the position to them, after all they do know they should be moving soon so I would be letting them know there will be no problems, or financial penalties for them, if they see a place they like and decide to move early.

Not being the landlord, I wouldn't have thought that the OP was in any position to make that sort of promise and only the owner of the house could.

00ec25

are you buying using a residential mortgage? If yes then the lender will not release the funds until vacant possession is obtained.

if its that important to you to be able to move in "early" then you can of course make any sort of offer you want to the current tenants. However, unless you have direct contact with them you do not as yet have any idea what their attitude is to moving out, as others siad they may be champing at the bit to get get out and a financial sweetener from you will speed them on their way or they may be very resentful of being asked to leave in which case either they can be awkward in which case kiss goodbye to you being able to exchange anytime soon or they could be brought round with a sweetener from you
.
whatever you do, if you do part with money get a legal undertaking from them to do whatever you and they agreed to in return for the dosh

as for what to offer that's down to you. You won't know what their onward fees could be till they tell you so offering a multiple of their current monthly rental would be a simple basis for negotiation.

However, if it was me I'd not approach the tenats at all, I'd rather deal with the current LL, pay him the money and get my solicitor to make it conditional on the LL getting his tenants out early. Yes you have a risk the LL simply pockets the sweetener himself, but if he gets them out early so what, as far as you are concerned objective achieved. the key to that approach is you have more control dealing with the LL than with their tenants

agrinnall

zappahey wrote: »

Not being the landlord, I wouldn't have thought that the OP was in any position to make that sort of promise and only the owner of the house could.

Exactly, and even if the tenants are prepared to accept a financial incentive to leave early, the OP may also have to compensate the LL for lost rent. I would be inclined to do as 00ec25 says and discuss it with the LL.

franklee

If time is of the essence catlady28 shouldn't be purchasing a tenanted property. As others have said there is no guarantee the tenant will leave when the LL's notice asks. Is the notice even valid?

What I'd suggest the catlady28 do is ask the vendor to see the paperwork, tenancy agreement, deposit information, section 21 notice etc. and check for herself they are all valid.

It any also be worth an informal chat with the tenants to see what their moving plans are. Perhaps ask for another viewing when they are present so you can ask some questions about the property and then chat to them informally about their plans to get an idea of if they really are moving anytime soon.

It would be bonkers for catlady28 to offer any sweetener to the tenants as they may move out and then the sale fall though. If the vendor gets wind she is desperate to buy the price may go up before exchange of contracts, or perhaps the survey comes back bad, or whatever anything can happen before exchange of contracts. That would leave catlady28 paying the tenants to vacate a property she's no longer buying.

Really catlady28's solicitor should have explained the pitfalls of buying a tenanted property - not left catlady28 assuming a the tenant will move out at the end of the LL's notice. If OTOH the tenants had served their own notice then far more chance that gets adhered to.

If catlady28 is in a chain I hope the other people were also told of the situation as they may not care to wait while a tenant is formally evicted.

Werdnal

catlady28 wrote: »

Their tenancy actually ends in july but the notice gives them until the end of august (as the vendor has served them the notice this week). What would you say is a reasonable amount to offer? Thanks.

As others have said, and I omitted from my first reply earlier, your offer should go through the LL, as you cannot make the offer direct to HIS tenants. He may be happy to waive the remaining rent on the guarantee of a quicker exchange from you.

However, the Quoted section above worries me - the reason why I asked if you definately know they are leaving in August. The notice issued by the LL DOES NOT end the tenancy or mean the tenants have to leave. The notice will be a Section 21, giving 2 month's notice that the LL is "seeking possession". Tenants may of course move on willingly, but they do not have to, and on expiry in August, the LL will have to take the next step to end the tenancy, ie eviction through a court possession order. This is where your comment about them leaving in August can all go pear-shaped, as when the LL applies to court, if there is any error, however minor, in the dates, the serving of the notice, the validity of the deposit protection the LL arranged on the tenancy etc, the courts can chuck out the notice, and LL has to start all over again with another 2 month's notice.

So, you may make your offer for them to leave, via the LL of course, and if tenants are willing to accept, it may also save the LL a costly, and possibly fruitless attempt to evict them. But beware, your anticipated date of tenant's leaving in August, may yet end up being somewhere nearer Christmas!

catlady28

Thanks for everyone taking the time to reply. Guess I have a lot to consider and will be ringing my solicitor for his advice tomorrow.
All the paperwork is in order, so i am living in hope that the tenants don't decide to outstay their notice! I am eager to get in for personal reasons but obviously I am prepared to wait if I have to. If anyone reads this and has experience of being in a similar situation to me please share!