LL selling/sitting tenants

AlecEiffel

Hello all.

Our landlord is selling our house to someone who is buying to let and is very happy for us to remain as tenants.

They haven't exchanged yet though the vendor is apparently keen to complete quickly.

Today we received a letter giving us two months notice from the existing LL (well their agency) for us to vacate as they will require possession of the property. I spoke to the person in the process of buying and they know nothing of it and are waiting for all the legal stuff to get sorted.

Their solicitor has processed properties with sitting tenants before and is happy with it though the existing agency (who is also the estate agent responsible for selling) tried to tell the buyer that it was such a huge hassle that they would be better off us moving out!!

My concern is that we are now on a ticking clock and although the buyer wants us to stay and we want to stay what happens if it drags on (or even falls through), we may end up having to find a new let in a very short amount of time.

Anyone got any advice on how to approach this? I plan to call the existing agency tomorrow to see what they know.

BitterAndTwisted

Just because a S21 Notice has been issue does not mean the landlord will choose to go to court to enforce it. Even if they do it could take months and months to secure a court-date. If the buyer is content to accept you as tenants it is unlikely to hold up the sale.

Werdnal

The S21 does not end the tenancy or mean you have to leave. It is notice that the LL MAY go to court after the 2 months to apply for possession. If the new buyers want you to stay, they can ignore the notice and allow your tenancy to continue, but beware that once it is issued, assuming it is valid, onvce the 2 months has passed they can apply for possession at any point without necessarily giving you any further notice.

By the way, the term "sitting tenants" has a specific legal meaning which gives far higher security of tenure over the property due to the tenancy being long term and not governed by normal AST rules. I assume you just mean you are the current tenants of the property, rather than genuine sitting tenants!

AlecEiffel

Thank both for your replies.

Yes I'm using sitting tenants in it's everyday slang form I suppose, as in we are tenants at the mo and the buyer is happy for us to remain so.

I shall see what the existing agency says tomorrow, they may just be dotting i's etc, or covering bases in case it all goes pear shaped.

G_M

Do you have a fixed term tenancy? Start/end dates? You cannot be madetoleave beforetheend date (unless there is a 'break clause' in your tenancy. Read it)

Or isyour tenancy Periodic (monthly)? If so, the 2months S21 Notice is just the start. It does not end the tenancy, the LL still needs a court order which can take weeks/months.

But given that the newowner wants you to stay, speak to him (if you canmake contact!) and persuade him to tell his solicitor to tell the buyer's solicitor to tel the buyer to tell theletting agent to withdraw the S21.

Once theourchase goesthrough, your tenancy continues unchanged except youpay rent to a different person (you should get written instructions about this, and about whereto write "for the servingof Notices")

More here:
Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)




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Werdnal

GM, Whilst ITA with your advice above, I was once rounded on by our learned friends over on LLZ, advising that you cannot "withdraw" an S21.

You can refrain from applying for possession, or you can issue an extension to the tenancy (either verbally or in writing) to over-ride the S21, but it cannot be cancelled or withdrawn once served.

AlecEiffel

Thanks for the reply.

Our fixed term comes to and end before the two months is up. Each time we have renewed in the past we have signed up to an new fixed term without a break clause. The contract states we have to give one month, the LL gives two months notice.

The (hopefully) new LL will want us to sign a new tenancy with their preferred agency which is fine by us. We personally are content to carry on for however long obviously until it's completed and we sign with the new LL. My worry was the two months running out before it was all completed and potentially being booted out with little time to find somewhere new.

Thanks for the link, will have a read.

[Deleted User]

AlecEiffel wrote: »

well their agency ... existing agency tried to tell the buyer that it was such a huge hassle that they would be better off us moving out

Sounds like the letting agency is doing something weird here, as others have said a S21 isn't a huge deal but if you want to get to the bottom of it you may wish to talk to the current owner as it sounds like maybe the letting agency has gone rogue and is doing something it thinks best but the landlord is unaware of?

BitterAndTwisted

Like getting a fee from the current landlord for drawing up a S21 which isn't really needed. Except in the mind of the agency, of course.

AlecEiffel

The existing agency is a bit fee-happy! It did seem odd that when talking to the prospective buyer who was openly buying-to-let that they would recommend the quiet, tidy, never missed a payment couple leave. The 'new' owner did tell them that they would be using a different agency so not sure if that factored into it.

AlecEiffel

citricsquid wrote: »

if you want to get to the bottom of it you may wish to talk to the current owner

Unfortunately we have never had any direct dealing with them. No contact details just a Name c/o Agency.