Buying House - Tenant refusing to leave...

MattinLondon

fairy_lights wrote: »

I'm a tenant, and if someone who wanted me to leave my home so they could buy it came round to suss me out I would not be best pleased.

We're tenants ourselves and always pay our rent on time. But we also understand that we're living in someone else's house.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team) has had several months to find somewhere else to live and is now costing several people lots of money. We have been trying to buy a house since March and this is the 4th that we have had an issue wih. It's starting to get a little annoying.

Hump

A valid s21 notice (assuming the deposit is protected and the prescribed information has been given) plus proof that the owner is selling should be sufficient for the council to start exploring rehousing the sitting tenant. If the sitting tenant is pregnant or has children then they will very likely be housed - probably back into another privately rented home. The Homelessness Code of Guidance says clearly that councils should normally deal with impending homelessness at the 'notice stage' and should not routinely require tenants to sit it out for court action or bailiffs (- though tenants can if they want).


If you proceed then insist on seeing copies of the latest tenancy agreement, the s21 notice and the landlord's copies of the deposit protection - so you can determine whether you can proceed with court action post completion. Negotiate the costs of possession (min £250 for the PCOL application plus another £100+ for the warrant plus a couple of hundred for legal fees). The big draw back is what happens if the tenant trashes the property just before leaving - perhaps the vendor should also cover the cost of an insurance or similar.


Good luck though

Lord_Baltimore

Hump wrote: »

The big draw back is what happens if the tenant trashes the property just before leaving - perhaps the vendor should also cover the cost of an insurance or similar.
Good luck though

Keep the deposit and bill the ex-tenant for any excess?

Pixie5740

It's not the tenant's fault that their LL is trying to sell a tenanted property to people who want to live in the property themselves. If you're looking for someone to blame try the LL for not getting vacant possession sorted out sooner. You could also look in the mirror as you are the one who went ahead with surveys etc when you knew the property had a tenant.

You have no idea what the tenant's circumstances are or what advice they may have received from the council. This property is still there home until either they, or a court, end the tenancy.

enthusiasticsaver

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Whoa whoa whoa! Stop the bus. There is absolutely no need to call the tenant scum. It's not the tenant's fault that their LL is trying to sell a tenanted property to people who want to live in the property themselves. If you're looking for someone to blame try the LL for not getting vacant possession sorted out sooner. You could also look in the mirror as you are the one who went ahead with surveys etc when you knew the property had a tenant.

You have no idea what the tenant's circumstances are or what advice they may have received from the council. This property is still there home until either they, or a court, end the tenancy.

Actually it is not the tenants' home, it is the landlords' property who gave notice to them to leave. This is the downside of renting in that the house does not belong to you but you can live in it while you have a lease. Surely if the landlord gave them 2 months notice this is enough time for the tenant to sort out somewhere else to live. One reason I would never do BTL, a pain to get people out when they do not want to leave.

Pixie5740

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Actually it is not the tenants' home, it is the landlords' property who gave notice to them to leave. This is the downside of renting in that the house does not belong to you but you can live in it while you have a lease. Surely if the landlord gave them 2 months notice this is enough time for the tenant to sort out somewhere else to live. One reason I would never do BTL, a pain to get people out when they do not want to leave.

X

Guess again mon cher. It is the tenant's home. The tenancy can only be ended by the tenant or a court. The Section 21 is merely notice that the landlord is starting the repossession process.

Who knows why the tenant hasn't moved out. We don't know their circumstances or what they may have been advised by Shelter or the council. Can the OP really be certain that the tenant has been served with a valid Section 21?

theartfullodger

As pixie says: further, it is the tenant's property whilst they have a tenancy which they do until bailiffs evict them.

mrginge

Ulfar wrote: »

This of course relies on the landlord having done everything correctly. Given they are greedy by wanting their cake and to eat it as well, I would look elsewhere.

If the tenant is looking to be evicted in order to get social housing, they're hardly likely to dispute the validity of the s.21 are they.

mrginge

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Actually it is not the tenants' home, it is the landlords' property who gave notice to them to leave. This is the downside of renting in that the house does not belong to you but you can live in it while you have a lease. Surely if the landlord gave them 2 months notice this is enough time for the tenant to sort out somewhere else to live. One reason I would never do BTL, a pain to get people out when they do not want to leave.

Probably best to do a bit of research before coming out with stuff like this.

Kynthia

mrginge wrote: »

Wont take several months if the s.21 expires at the end of the month.
However, there's no harm in looking at alternatives.

Depends. It can take a few weeks to get a possession hearing date, then 14 days for the eviction date, then could be other 10 weeks for bailiffs if there's a backlog.