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

G_M

GoingOn30 wrote: »

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.

* Wrong. Advertising as 'vacant possession' means that on completion of the sale the property wll be handed over with no one in occupation. Very few properties are vacant at the time they are advertised.

Either the seller, or a tenant, is usally in occupation.


But yes, when the fixed term ends you can remain on a periodic tenancy.


You can only be evicted following service of a valid S21 Notice which requires a 2 month notice period (followed by court action if required).


The best way forward is a frank discussion witth the landlord. agree reasonable access for viewings (either in your presence or absence, whichever you prefer) at times to suit you, and in return request flexibility in terms of the notice you need to serve if your purchase goes through.


Typically you should not serve notice till you Excange Contracts on your purchase, and also typically, you would Complete 1 or 2 weeks later (whereas your tenancy notice should be at least a month unless otherwise agreed).

AdrianC

GoingOn30 wrote: »

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.

For which she can and will issue notice.
If the tenant does not leave by the expiry of that notice, she can take all the usual possession proceedings.
At the end of those possession proceedings, she will have vacant possession, and can exchange contracts on any agreed sale.


So, no, she is not wrong to advertise it as being sold with vacant possession. She simply hasn't mentioned the timescale to achieve it.

franklee

IvyFlood wrote: »

I am assuming she can put the property on the market while we are still in our fixed term?

It depends what the tenancy agreement says. Often they say something like viewings by appointment within the last month. Yours may be different.

IvyFlood wrote: »

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!

Well it will be vacant when any sale completes. The landlady will probably be advised not to exchange contracts until you have vacated.

IvyFlood wrote: »

What I would like to know is what happens after our tenancy ends?

If the tenancy agreement provides for it you will go into a contractual periodic tenancy. Otherwise you will go into a statutory periodic tenancy.

IvyFlood wrote: »

Could we be evicted if she finds a buyer who wants to proceed?

Yes. Likely by Section 21 notice which is two months notice. If you don't leave then possession order and then bailiffs each adding another month or so.

IvyFlood wrote: »

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!

There is a chance your purchase will go through before you can be formally evicted. It does depend on how long a chain you are in as each link has the potential to cause delays.

It also depends on the landlady doing everything right as nowadays there are a lot of things that can make a section 21 notice invalid. See here:

https://markprichard.co.uk/content/documents/180408-Section-21-checker-tool.pdf

Soot2006

I was in this situation some years ago.


We had a very open and frank discussion with the LL - I'd been putting it off as didn't find them very approachable but so glad I put my own hesitations aside. In the end, we agreed to all at in good faith. I permitted reasonable viewings by EA (and kept flat a bit tidier than usual; made sure my pet cages were on fresh bedding and kitchen sparkly). In exchange LL agreed in writing to essentially make us a part of the chain i.e. would consider our purchase completion within her sale completion arrangements. The timings were pretty good so in the end we moved out of the rental a few days before the new owners moved in. It was a surprisingly amicable experience and somewhat restored my faith in humanity. I guess what I'm saying is there are rights and there are right - have a chat with LL and see if you're not already on a similar page anyway.

IvyFlood

Thanks everyone for your replies - its been helpful


A For Sale sign was hammered up yesterday which was a bit of a shock!


It has always been our intention to be open and honest and cooperate with the LL. She seems reasonable but as I said it is actually her daughters house who lives elsewhere. We did tell her about the listing saying it was vacant and this has now been removed.


We have just found out our valuation/survey isn't happening until 9th July so that's another 3 weeks! Our sellers are moving into rented so I don't anticipate a chain.


The property went on the market on Saturday and so far no one has been to view it (the LL said she'd let us know in advance if she was showing people round). To be honest, I think its very overpriced for what it is! A 2 bed terraced but the smallest room doesn't even fit a proper single bed and there are definitely damp issues! But its in a prime spot within a very sought after town! I can only hope that prospective buyers will be put off by sitting tenants?

Jane_B

IvyFlood wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies - its been helpful


A For Sale sign was hammered up yesterday which was a bit of a shock!


It has always been our intention to be open and honest and cooperate with the LL. She seems reasonable but as I said it is actually her daughters house who lives elsewhere. We did tell her about the listing saying it was vacant and this has now been removed.


We have just found out our valuation/survey isn't happening until 9th July so that's another 3 weeks! Our sellers are moving into rented so I don't anticipate a chain.


The property went on the market on Saturday and so far no one has been to view it (the LL said she'd let us know in advance if she was showing people round). To be honest, I think its very overpriced for what it is! A 2 bed terraced but the smallest room doesn't even fit a proper single bed and there are definitely damp issues! But its in a prime spot within a very sought after town! I can only hope that prospective buyers will be put off by sitting tenants?

Why was the for sale sign a shock for you? you know she is selling the house....To be honest the way you are wording things makes you seem a bit irrational.

The land lady can advertise as vacant, if she intends to not complete until you have left.

If you are not in a chain, which means things will move quickly, I can't see what the fuss is about.

IvyFlood

Jane_B wrote: »

Why was the for sale sign a shock for you? you know she is selling the house....To be honest the way you are wording things makes you seem a bit irrational.

The land lady can advertise as vacant, if she intends to not complete until you have left.

If you are not in a chain, which means things will move quickly, I can't see what the fuss is about.

It just was, maybe because its right outside our door on the road as we don't have a front garden, or I'm just sensitive!


Yes, others have already said she is well within her right to advertise as vacant if it will be upon completion.


I really do hope things move quickly but nothing is certain until key is in hand! Its just added pressure that we wouldn't necessarily have had if she wasn't selling the house and the uneasy feeling of possibly being evicted!

franklee

IvyFlood wrote: »

the LL said she'd let us know in advance if she was showing people round)

She should be asking your permission by making an appointment with you not just letting you know and it should be 24 hours notice. As I asked before what does your tenancy agreement say about viewings for a sale?

IvyFlood wrote: »

I really do hope things move quickly but nothing is certain until key is in hand! Its just added pressure that we wouldn't necessarily have had if she wasn't selling the house and the uneasy feeling of possibly being evicted!

Sure it adds a bit of pressure but you haven't even been served notice yet!

We only found the house we wanted to buy after being served the S21 (our landlord wished to sell and no way we were buying that one). Now that was stressful but we got there in the end.

I find in situations like this get some contingency in place. It may be you find the section 21 (when it's eventually served) is invalid. It may be you make interim arrangements e.g. putting your possessions in store and finding short term accommodation like a B&B or holiday let. I'd suggest you start researching those now as well as keeping on top of your purchase (make sure you know what could cause delays on your side and kick them off asap) and try to stay focused

macman

Whose name is on the tenancy agreement as the LL-mother or daughter? If the latter, is the mother acting as the daughter's letting agent, or what?
You can't be served notice by the mother if she is not the landlord (unless she has a POA over her daughter, and she can't be the LL if the daughter has sole ownership of the property.

IvyFlood

macman wrote: »

Whose name is on the tenancy agreement as the LL-mother or daughter? If the latter, is the mother acting as the daughter's letting agent, or what?
You can't be served notice by the mother if she is not the landlord (unless she has a POA over her daughter, and she can't be the LL if the daughter has sole ownership of the property.

It is the mothers name on the contract but the property is let through an agency. The house is owned by her daughter who lives in a different part of the UK hence why her mother 'looks after' it. I have no idea whose name is on the title deeds.