how long can we expect?

MrsRobbo17

hi!

we've accepted an offer on our house (whoop) and had our offer accepted on the house we wanted (whoop whoop).

the couple buying our house are FTBs. The house we are buying is currently rented out and the tenants were given notice today.

any one have any ideas how long it'll take to complete?

thanks in advance!

BitterAndTwisted

Depends on how keen/able the tenants are to move out. If they'e hoping to be rehoued by the local authority they will be encouraged to sit tight until the bailiffs are on the doorstep.

At the very least: two months.

Worst-case scenario: you won't be in this side of Christmas.

Yorkie1

As B&T says, the minimum length of time is 2 months. Assuming the tenants are no longer in a fixed term, the LL has to give 2 months' notice under s.21 which expires at the end of a tenancy period. Depending on where they are in the tenancy period, the notice could expire in almost 3 months' time.

NB If the Ts are still in a fixed term, the notice cannot expire until two months after issue, or the end of the fixed term, whichever is later.

So you need to know whether the Ts are still in their fixed term, if so when it ends, and if not when the s.21 notice expires.

Note that quite a few LLs get the s.21 notice wrong and have to start again once it reaches court and the judge throws it out.

The notice is not an eviction notice. The Ts do not legally have to leave at that point, although many do. But if they fail to leave, the LL then has to get a court hearing to evict. If they obtain the eviction order, and the Ts refuse to leave at that stage, the LL has to get the bailiffs in. Each of these latter two parts can take a number of weeks.

Make sure your solicitor knows that the property is currently tenanted.

Do NOT exchange until the tenants have left. Make sure you inspect the property after the tenants have left and before you instruct your solicitor to exchange. This is to make sure what condition the property is in, and whether the seller needs to make good the condition of it (if the Ts have - worst case scenario - trashed the place before leaving).

This is not intended to scare you, but merely to make you aware of the steps which need to be completed before you can exchange, let alone complete.

MrsRobbo17

thanks!

the tenants have been at the house when we have had viewings and seem nice enough. According to the agent they have been looking for another property. The house has been on the market since March so it can't be a shock to them. To the best of our knowledge (what the EA has said) they are out of fixed contract so I guess its the 2 months notice they were being given today.

will make sure the solicitor is aware and we don't become the landlord of our ideal home!

thanks again!

ValHaller

MrsRobbo17 wrote: »

thanks!

the tenants have been at the house when we have had viewings and seem nice enough. According to the agent they have been looking for another property. The house has been on the market since March so it can't be a shock to them. To the best of our knowledge (what the EA has said) they are out of fixed contract so I guess its the 2 months notice they were being given today.

will make sure the solicitor is aware and we don't become the landlord of our ideal home!

thanks again!

The 2 months notice could be as much as 3 months, since the notice calendar only starts counting 2 months from the end of a tenancy period.

Add on to that the sound practice of not exchanging until the tenants are really out (this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4663325 refers) and you could easily be going for 4 months even with a fair wind

MrsRobbo17

thanks valhaller. I'd noticed that thread yesterday evening. Not good for the buyer or the tenants. Hopefully we can learn from their situation.