Landlord has put property on the market...my rights as a tennant?!

IvyFlood

Just looking for some advice

We are currently renting and our fixed contract is due to expire at the end of June, when we were going to continue with a periodic tenancy because we are looking to buy a house.

We have found a house and are proceeding with it (we just submitted our mortgage application yesterday).

At the same time our landlady has informed us she wishes to sell the property. When we discovered this we also told her our intentions of looking to buy, this was a couple of weeks ago.

We have now found out that the property is on the market and people would like to come and view. I am assuming she can put the property on the market while we are still in our fixed term? The property is advertised as 'vacant possession' even though we are living here and they have used old photos of when it was empty even though an agent came and took photos!

What I would like to know is what happens after our tenancy ends? Could we be evicted if she finds a buyer who wants to proceed? Obviously I am hoping our house purchase goes through ok in which case everything should work out but I am just really concerned as we already had to pull out of one earlier this year as my partner lost his job so there is added pressure!

Appreciate any advice

GoingOn30

She is wrong to advertise as vacant possession as only a court can evict you. There is nothing to force you to move out at the end of the fixed term. It will automatically go onto a periodic tenancy.

Red-Squirrel_2

Nothing changes regarding your tenancy, the landlord can evict you after your fixed term ends but they still have to do it properly and you can!!!8217;t be made to leave until bailiffs come to force you! You do incur court costs if you let it get that far though.

Your landlord is trying to have their cake and eat it, they want your rent for as long as possible but they also want to attract as many potential buyers as possible by advertising it as vacant. They are probably thinking that your house purchase will complete shortly before theirs and they can get away with it.

Just carry on doing what you!!!8217;re doing, and give your own notice whenever you are ready.

need_an_answer

The key to a smooth transition will be communication.

Presumably your LL hopes you will either vacate at the end of the fixed term or within an agreed time once you move to a rolling tenancy.

It may be that you are a couple of weeks further down the process having found a property and now be at the mortgage app stage where as the LL still needs to find the buyer.


How happy are you to allow viewings?


Are you happy to share your house move timeline with the LL to potentially stay until your purchase is made?

The more you dig in with "your right " to stay the more the LL may counter back and clearly I assume you would prefer to stay until you have a completion date,if that's the case talk to the LL to see if that can be arranged.


It would appear that in offering vacant possession the LL is hoping that you will be able to come to an amicable move out date but as I said the key is communicating and to some extent both being flexible.
It doesn't have to end in an eviction process if you can arrange things smoothly.

Although I do agree as a LL it is far better to sell with complete vacant possession after you have moved on. Cake and eating it LL yes but it could also be to your advantage too so that you don't have a period of time with nowhere to live or the threat of evcition hanging over you.

diggingdude

Don't be a push over with viewings. Allow when they suit you not them. they have a right to do viewings but not every other day or when you are having your dinner etc, unless the landlord wants to compensate you for your loss of peaceful enjoyment

Mossfarr

Yes your landlord can advertise the property for sale whilst you are still in your fixed term (they could sell the property with you remaining as tenants if they wanted to).
You need to check the terms of your tenancy agreement regarding allowing viewings by potential buyers. This is not unreasonable providing you are given enough notice and can negotiate times which are convenient for you. It could actually work in your favour as you can mention to the viewers that you are in the process of buying your own home and do not know when you will be moving out.

I think your landlady was being considerate to you by using photos of the property when it was empty - you wouldn't be happy for your furnishings/ personal belongings being posted on the likes of RightMove for all to see would you? I know I wouldn't if I were in your position.

She can serve you with section 21 notice but you do not need to leave - it is just officially letting you know she intends to start eviction proceedings. This can take several months and can be extremely costly so it is more likely that she will work with you regarding your leaving date.

Good Luck, I hope it all works out for you.

saajan_12

IvyFlood wrote: »

Just looking for some advice

We are currently renting and our fixed contract is due to expire at the end of June, when we were going to continue with a periodic tenancy because we are looking to buy a house.

We have found a house and are proceeding with it (we just submitted our mortgage application yesterday).- congrats!
could take anywhere from 2-10 months, so staying on a periodic would be ideal, could be expensive if you have an extra move + overlap from minimum 6 month tenancy.

At the same time our landlady has informed us she wishes to sell the property. When we discovered this we also told her our intentions of looking to buy, this was a couple of weeks ago. - okay, would be great if her sale & your purchase are roughly in line, you don't have an extra move & minimal overlap, she has minimal voids. As long as you can get along and mutually agree an early termination date..


We have now found out that the property is on the market and people would like to come and view. I am assuming she can put the property on the market while we are still in our fixed term? - yes, that's writing things on the internet, doesn't affect you.
The property is advertised as 'vacant possession' even though we are living here and they have used old photos of when it was empty even though an agent came and took photos! - The idea is it will be vacant by the time completion happens. The sale will still take time if they've just advertised. The landlady may (should) warn viewers that the timescale will depend on when you move out, but doesn't really affect you, that's between landlady & buyer. They may just have decided the prefer the old photos, or there could have been some issue wiht the new ones..

What I would like to know is what happens after our tenancy ends? -
after your fixed term ends, if you don't leave then you go onto periodic
after your tenancy ends (ie by you serving valid notice OR a court's possession order) thats the end, you have to leave.
Could we be evicted if she finds a buyer who wants to proceed? - Yes, but this takes time. The LL needs to serve 2 months Section 21 notice (many strict rules for this to be valid) and then apply to court for a possession order (fairly automatic if notice was valid), and then bailiffs need to physically evict you. All in ~4 months. Obviously I am hoping our house purchase goes through ok in which case everything should work out but I am just really concerned as we already had to pull out of one earlier this year as my partner lost his job so there is added pressure! -

Appreciate any advice

If you're evicted, could you afford extra moving costs + the overlap between a new 6 month tenancy and mortgage payments? If not, best would be for you to be able to stay in situ, so suggest you play nice with the LL!

theartfullodger

You are in a strong negotiating position. Explain to your landlord/purchaser that you might be willing to go when they want if there is a suitable payment: I'd be wanting at least £10k....


If not, you are staying, new owner outside with huge removal van or not. You are still the tenant. New owner is merely the new landlord.... whatever his solicitor told him....

IvyFlood

need_an_answer wrote: »

The key to a smooth transition will be communication.

Presumably your LL hopes you will either vacate at the end of the fixed term or within an agreed time once you move to a rolling tenancy.

It may be that you are a couple of weeks further down the process having found a property and now be at the mortgage app stage where as the LL still needs to find the buyer.


How happy are you to allow viewings?


Are you happy to share your house move timeline with the LL to potentially stay until your purchase is made?

The more you dig in with "your right " to stay the more the LL may counter back and clearly I assume you would prefer to stay until you have a completion date,if that's the case talk to the LL to see if that can be arranged.


It would appear that in offering vacant possession the LL is hoping that you will be able to come to an amicable move out date but as I said the key is communicating and to some extent both being flexible.
It doesn't have to end in an eviction process if you can arrange things smoothly.

Although I do agree as a LL it is far better to sell with complete vacant possession after you have moved on. Cake and eating it LL yes but it could also be to your advantage too so that you don't have a period of time with nowhere to live or the threat of evcition hanging over you.

There is no way we would have a completion date by the time the fixed tennancy ends as that is about 3 weeks. Our intention was always to continue as a periodic tennancy and have a slight overlap on us completing and gradually moving as well as giving the place a good clean before we hand it back. We planned (and still do) to give a months notice.

I am aware that the house buying prcoess is never smooth but in our case the property we are purchasing, the vendors are going into rented so there is no chain in effect. So we are hoping it will be quick - but we haven't had the survey done yet!

Im just so nervous about the whole thing because of our first experience and really dont want to end up having to rent someone for six months.

We plan to cooperate fully, we have already said we are happy for the landlady to do viewings if we cant. She is pleasant enough but its actually her daughters house and so obviosuly would have her best interests at heart!

If it does go to an eviction which hopefully it wont then id like to think that by the time its enforced we'd be long gone anyway. Fingers crossed!

bopsybunny

The house we currently rent was actually put on the market for sale long before we moved in. Once we moved in the advert was changed to a buy-to-let only with tenants in place. Once our 6 month tenancy agreement was over, we moved to a monthly rolling agreement, and it still hadn't sold, so the owner asked for it to be advertised to all potential buyers again and also dropped the price. We're saving for our deposit and it make me really anxious knowing if they sold to someone who actually wanted to live in it, we'd be given 2 months notice to leave which would not be long enough for us to sort out a house. We started viewing loads of houses that were cheaper than we wanted in a panic because we couldn't afford to end up in another 6 month tenancy elsewhere.

Luckily, an offer was accepted on the property from another buy-to-let investor who has agreed to keep us in the house on the same terms!

You won't have to leave at the end of your fixed period tenancy unless your landlord has served you the formal 2 month notice.

I hope that it works out for you!

LandyAndy

bopsybunny wrote: »

The house we currently rent was actually put on the market for sale long before we moved in. Once we moved in the advert was changed to a buy-to-let only with tenants in place. Once our 6 month tenancy agreement was over, we moved to a monthly rolling agreement, and it still hadn't sold, so the owner asked for it to be advertised to all potential buyers again and also dropped the price. We're saving for our deposit and it make me really anxious knowing if they sold to someone who actually wanted to live in it, we'd be given 2 months notice to leave which would not be long enough for us to sort out a house. We started viewing loads of houses that were cheaper than we wanted in a panic because we couldn't afford to end up in another 6 month tenancy elsewhere.

Luckily, an offer was accepted on the property from another buy-to-let investor who has agreed to keep us in the house on the same terms!

You won't have to leave at the end of your fixed period tenancy unless your landlord has served you the formal 2 month notice.

I hope that it works out for you!

Where do people get the idea that being served a S21 notice means that you have to leave after 2 months?