Bought a house - now tenant wont move out

anselld

Kim786 wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I hope you can help/advise me on an issue i'm having.

I am a first time buyer and my uncle's friend (Seller) was selling a house privately cheaply as he needed the cash. The house had tenant's which were also my uncle's friend.

When the sale was going through the seller reassured me that the tenants would move out as soon as they found a suitable house to rent. I thought fair enough as the tenant had small children and they were acquaintance i let them be.

It's now three month's down the line and the tenant has still not moved out and only now have asked that i provide an eviction letter. I have spoken to the seller and he say's he has told them to move out and there's nothing he can do. The tenant is now getting really rude and saying he needs a section 21 letter first followed by an eviction letter.

Also i am worried as i bought this house for me to live in and the tenants are still there, someone has informed me i need to notify the bank - is this true and will there be any consequences?

I'm unfortunately stuck between a rock and a hard place - I can't sell the property or get them to move out. Any advise would be really appreciated guys.

Do i have to serve the tenant both a section 21 and an eviction letter? They both sound like the same thing. And do i need to notify my bank? Will there be any consequences?

I'm really stressed out and feel like i've been naive and have been taken advantage of from both the seller and the tenant. I know it's my own fault for being naive but would really appreciate some advise.

Did you have a Solicitor/Conveyancer for this purchase?
Where they asleep at the wheel?

Or was this some dodgy cash deal, in which case are you even sure you have proper registered ownership?

No solicitor in their right mind would allow their client to get into this position without a full appreciation of the risks up front.

Frankly, I wonder if this is another wind-up because I just cant see how it can happen.

ACG

How were you able to complete if the property was not vacant?

It sounds like your tenants need a S21 and eviction letter to be given accommodation by the council. Why have you not issued a S21?

davidmcn

anselld wrote: »

Did you have a Solicitor/Conveyancer for this purchase?
Where they asleep at the wheel?

Or was this some dodgy cash deal, in which case are you even sure you have proper registered ownership?

No solicitor in their right mind would allow their client to get into this position without a full appreciation of the risks up front.

Frankly, I wonder if this is another wind-up because I just cant see how it can happen.

If they've got a mortgage then at the very least the lender would have had a solicitor. I wonder what they were told...

janesmith

Sorry to hear about your position.

The legislation in this country is heavily stacked in the favour of the tenants and it can take many months - and if they are liars and know how to "play the game", which many tenants are, a whole year - to acquire possession of your own property, so unfortunately you're on a tricky wicket.

There's some good advice above. Serve a Section 21 urgently.

Wishing you all the best.

pinkshoes

This sounds like a very dodgy sale...

Your solicitor should have advised you not to exchange until the house had vacant posession. You did inform them of the tenant didn't you???

You are now a landlord. You need a BTL mortgage which usually requires a large deposit.

Your options are:

1. Offer the tenant a LARGE sum of money to move out. £5000?

2. Issue an S21 (return their deposit first - have you protected it????) then take it to court, then get baillifs to evict them. The tenants want a council house and this is the procedure. It could take MONTHS to do this.

3. Sue your uncle for not informing you the house came with a tenant.

Comms69

janesmith wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your position.

The legislation in this country is heavily stacked in the favour of the tenants and it can take many months - and if they are liars and know how to "play the game", which many tenants are, a whole year - to acquire possession of your own property, so unfortunately you're on a tricky wicket.

There's some good advice above. Serve a Section 21 urgently.

Wishing you all the best.

A tenant cannot in anyway delay eviction; so it’s Nothing to do with playing the game.

Not sure what lies you expect?

diggingdude

Many tenants are liars are they? I suppose every landlord puts 20 illegals in their properties also. Nonsense

Smi1er

oh dear. Is this a wind up?

I'm puzzled as to how your bought a house with tenants with a mortgage that wasn't BTL.

Anyways. Back to your problem, and with respect, you haven't a clue so in my eyes you only have two choices.

1/ Call someone like Landlord Action and have a chat with them, they will advise you of time it will take and costs. If the tenancy agreement is in order then expect £3K all the way to baliffs and 6 months.

2/ Knock on the tenants door and have a chat with them. Tell them if they leave within 3 weeks you will pay them £XK

X will be at least £2K, could be double that. Also bear in mind you owe them whatever deposit they paid your Uncle.

I'd be going for Option 2.

Kim786

Thanks all for your responses.

Yes, i am aware this is my fault but the tenants agreed to move out ASAP. My lawyer did not state anything about making sure the tenants moved out before completion.
The seller did state there are tenants and that they would move out in a week or two.

The tenant was really sweet the whole time saying they would move out and quite frankly guilt tripped me as they have kids. And as they were acquaintances i didn't think they would create a problem but are now refusing to move out.

I will try to talk to them and offer them a sum of money to move out ASAP, and will serve them with a section 21.

Wish me good luck guys.

Kim786

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Did you buy it with vacant possession? This is the normal process when buying a house to live in. Your solicitor should have made sure this was the case at point of exchange.


Obviously this differs if you were buying a B2L with a sitting tenant.

No it had the previous owners tenants when i bought the house and i was reassured by both seller and tenant they would be moving out asap. My solicitor thought this was fine as i was acquaintances with both parties.