Tenant delayed buying our property - do we need to refund any part of the rent?

bumps34

All searches etc have apparently been done - it is literally the mortgage off that is holding things up (or so we have been told).

Good luck with your purchase.

We have sold to a tenant before without any problems - it is just very frustrating on this occasion as the one person who wasn't involved in the chain (the tenant as we should have had this sale done and dusted before our purchase) is now holding up the chain.

dimbo61

Buying a property takes time.
Estate agent once shouted at me for telling him when I Wanted exchange/completion.
Told me to speak to Solicitor and when it happens and everyone is ready then and only then can you exchange.
You have heard of MMR
Pay the tenant back any overpaid rent and thank her for being a great tenant and paying you rent till the day you sold the property.
Fancy a void period for 2/3/4 months ?

davidmcn

bumps34 wrote: »

if my tenant has paid rent for December and then the property she is renting becomes hers at some point during December, am I required to repay her the 'unused' part of the rent?

The usual procedure would be for a pro rata refund of rent (and any deposit) to be deducted from the price paid at completion.

Manichouse

Fingers crossed then that she gets the offer and you guys get sold. In terms of overpaid rent yes I would pay the pro rata amount back as in theory she would have only paid you a pro rata sum if everything was in place and the date agreed to complete.

Good luck!

Thrugelmir

bumps34 wrote: »

All searches etc have apparently been done - it is literally the mortgage off that is holding things up (or so we have been told).

Who by? Communication seems shockingly bad around.

I doubt the tenants solicitor has done much work yet. All the enquiries yet.

franklee

bumps34 wrote: »

As a result of this delay, the tenant has had to pay December's rent. If we manage to complete before the end of December, do I have to repay her any of the 'unused' rent?

I would say that technically no you don't as rent should be owed in whole periods unless specifically agreed otherwise. However surely in your case it's up for negotiation? If you wanted to charge me rent during the overlap I'd just delay the completion date as why should you double dip? So you'd need to weigh up what's more important a few hundred or a delay till the end of the period rent is paid up for. Probably won't make much difference to the tenant as she doesn't have to make removal arrangements but how will it affect the rest of the chain, will the vendors of your dream house wait? If you were selling to anyone other than the tenant you'd have to arrange viewings that she agreed to, serve her notice and get her out before exchange of contracts etc. You may then have a long void. Surely the lack of hassle benefits you both? You could keep quiet and then refuse the refund after the event but I suspect she or her solicitor will want to get it nailed down as part of agreeing the terms of sale. Also you knew there had been no survey back then so you knew exchange was some time away and that she need to get her mortgage sorted first. Suggest you ask for more details on what exactly the delay is and then try and go with the flow if it's be out of her control.

Old_Git

just pay it back .

princeofpounds

Like a lot of people on this thread, I have to admit it all seems a bit confused. Seems rather premature to be thinking of completion when a survey hasn't even taken place and you should be looking to exchange first of all.

Anyway, most types of rent are not apportionable (apportionment of rent is the Google term you want). So if she stays just one day of a period she owes rent for the whole period. So you do not need to refund her pro rata.

However, I would say that a) because this seems unfair sometimes and b) most people do not know or understand this then it is probably more common in practice to voluntarily refund rent on a pro data basis.

Why is it like that? It is basically to stop people wasting court time arguing over refunds of days, hours, minutes and seconds. You have to draw the line somewhere and the law says it is the rental period (usually one month).

Also remember the difference between rent paid and rent that is actually due, if like most tenancies you take payment in advance. It is possible you receive a payment you later are not entitled to.

Lord_Baltimore

The majority of property deals probably don't run smoothly and I empathise. But don't get your knickers in a twist over a few hundred quid, life's too short.

You'll have a new house and your ex-tenant will own her own home and it's nearly Christmas. What's there not to be happy about?

davidmcn

princeofpounds wrote: »

Anyway, most types of rent are not apportionable (apportionment of rent is the Google term you want)

...but that can always be overridden by contract, and in this case there is a contract being negotiated, so the parties can insert a clause dealing with it in a more equitable manner (I'm assuming that the standard forms of contract don't already cover this).