Tenant wanting to stay in property after the tenancy has ended. Advice please!

Oxid8uk

My tenant gave me notice to end the tenancy as he was in the process of buying a property. The tenancy is due to end this Friday.

I had a text from him last night saying that his vendors assure him that the property is likely to be his by Friday but he has asked me that if the completion were to be delayed by a few days would he be able to stay on in my property until then (I am not getting another tenant as I am selling the property).
I have raised my concerns about this as it appears contracts have still not be exchanged and therefore I am aware it all could fall through last minute. In addition, the gas certificate expires a week tomorrow and I don't want to have to pay for another one if he only ends up being there a few days after it has been done.


What should I do? I am aware that if I accept rent then a new tenancy could be created but I have heard of 'mesne profit'. Could I go down this route but tell him he only has until next Wednesday after which he needs to find alternative accommodation?


I must add, the relationship between myself and my tenant is very good and he has been a model tenant. I do want to help him out but at the same time I am concerned about the legal issues that could arise if his purchase were to fall through and also the impact this could have on me selling the property.

Thanks in advance.

cloo

No advice to offer, but watching this as I too have an excellent tenant who is under notice as I am selling the house. I would be willing to let her stay an extra few days if necessary (as I know sometimes moves get delayed) but I know there are legal issues potentially when you allow a tenant to stay after expiry.

specialboy

How much is a weeks rent minus the cost of a gas cert worth to you? You won't get a penny if its empty.

thesaint

When is your sale going through?

Oxid8uk

Sale probably won't go through for at least another 4 weeks but I am concern that my buyer might get wind that my tenant is still in the property and then pull out. As my tenant has not yet exchanged contracts I worry that it could get drawn out and in 4 weeks time he is still there.
I want to help him out but I also need to look after my own interests too. For me it doesn't matter if the place is empty and generating no income.

theartfullodger

As you are trying to sell the place you have the most to lose - possible £1ks if not £10ks....

In your shoes, regardless of legal right or wrong, I'd be flexible & helpful to tenant. Tenant holds most of the big cards - although he may not realise that!

Tenant (or his legal adviser) may be viewing this thread..

Get Gas cert sorted: Were there to be a problem & you not have the certificate life might be very painful, not to mention embarrassing.

Soot2006

It comes down to trust and gut feeling I guess

When LL was selling we asked to stay a little longer as were waiting for e rental to come up and promised to move out before a certain date. Legally I know we didn't have to once the statutory tenancy started , but I am very grateful he trusted us and of course we kept our word.

Then when we were buying, new LL and us came to mutually arrangement in terms of viewings and move-out dates, etc ... We kept each other informed, we stayed on good terms and things fell into place nicely ...

G_M

Be flexible.

Tell you are happy to let him stay on for a few days/week or two (put a dtae on it) as you understand house-buying is a stressful and uncertain acivity, but since this means you'll have to renew the GSC would he mind picking up the cost of that?

Is your tenant exchanging/completing sae day (ie hopefully Friday)?

The risk is his purchase falls through and he does not move out at all. But then that is always the risk when a landlord tries to sell a property with a tenant in situ.

Don't forget [FONT=&quot]Distress For Rent Act 1747 S18[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (Double rent if tenant fails to leave after giving notice) [/FONT]

Oxid8uk

Thanks G_M and everyone else who has commented.
I spoke with the tenant earlier and we have agreed to allow him to stay for 2 weeks maximum after his tenancy ends. His vendors spoke to him this evening and said that exchange on the property they are buying is imminent and they have all agreed a completion of a week on Friday at the latest.


It may happen before then in which case I don't need to worry about the GSC but just in case it runs over I have got the gas engineer on standby to do the certificate. I am going to bare the cost as at the end of the day he has been a fantastic tenant and has really looked after the place.


Thanks again everyone.

cloo

OK, so my tenant has come out with and said they're finding getting another place hard, so can they stay longer (they have just over a month left). Now I don't know yet whether she means she wants another month or another few weeks, and I'm also not certain whether they're trying to buy or not - I believe they are. If that is the case, I feel I have to say that I cannot factor their purchase into the sale of my house, as it is sold chain free and they should look for a short let or stopgap. I don't mind offering them an extra week or two at short notice if they need it, but I feel agreeing already to let them stay longer is a bit premature.

I guess the first thing to do is check out their position and work from there...

thesaint

You should not have given them extra time. You have been poorly advised on here.
You can start the court process based on their notice. I hope it was valid.