Vendor's friend occupying property

proformance

Hi guys
We had a survey and valuation done in November and it was understood (although not ever formally stated) that the property was vacant.
We thought we should double-check with the EA and he has confirmed that the status is "owner-occupied" and the owner's friend is staying there at the moment.
Given the survey done in November a possible move-in date still some way off (if ever), is there any risk a more seasoned buyer might think worthy of highlighting here?
Thanks,
Z

[Deleted User]

If the owners friend is paying rent of any sort then they are a tenant and may decide to not leave.  If it has been all informal then its unlikely the owner followed proper process to rent out the property so getting rid of them will be tough if the friend refuses to leave.  

Not a lot you can do about this though until closer to the time and you see if it is going to be an issue or not

dimbo61

Has the owner's friend got s tenancy agreement ?
Is he/she paying rent ?
Can you check the EPC ?
Has the owner/Landlord had a GSC and EICR for the property ?
Can you search online to see if the property was rented ??

allIcouldwishfor

We had to get our 18yo son to sign a document stating he will be moving out of our house on/before completion. I would expect your solicitor to insist on your vendor doing the same.

greatcrested

allIcouldwishfor said:

We had to get our 18yo son to sign a document stating he will be moving out of our house on/before completion. I would expect your solicitor to insist on your vendor doing the same.

This is a normal part of the conveyancing process. The seller's will be required to give vacant possession on Completion, AND to obtain a statement from any resident adults (other than the seller(s) themselves) that they will vacate.

But as said above, if the occupant is a tenant, it would take 9,12 or more months to evict him if he declined to leave....

proformance

Deleted_User said:

If the owners friend is paying rent of any sort then they are a tenant and may decide to not leave.  If it has been all informal then its unlikely the owner followed proper process to rent out the property so getting rid of them will be tough if the friend refuses to leave.  

Not a lot you can do about this though until closer to the time and you see if it is going to be an issue or not

Should I ask the EA to lodge any questions about this now though? I.e. is it a formal/informal (unwritten) lodging? Or leave to my solicitors? 

dimbo61 said:

Has the owner's friend got s tenancy agreement ?
Is he/she paying rent ?
Can you check the EPC ?
Has the owner/Landlord had a GSC and EICR for the property ?
Can you search online to see if the property was rented ??

Regarding EPC: Given the survey didn't produce an EPC document, is this something I should wait for the solicitors and/or searches to come back with?
Regarding GSC and EICR: What do these mean? Which document/process usually produces these?
Regarding "Can you search online to see if the property was rented ??": How can I search this? Certainly, there was nothing on Rightmove or Zoopla..

allIcouldwishfor said:

We had to get our 18yo son to sign a document stating he will be moving out of our house on/before completion. I would expect your solicitor to insist on your vendor doing the same.

Ah, so this is something for the solicitors to chase? I don't think anyone in my court has been made aware of this nuance. Is it suggested that I report this to my solicitors and just let them deal with it?

greatcrested

As stated, this is all covered in the conveyancing process. Specifically by the form TA6 (question 11) which the buyer/their solicitor sends to the seller/their solicitor:

Download a specimen TA6 form (PDF 793 KB)

youth_leader

So sorry to read this.  I viewed a 'no chain!' property in Kent and on the day of the viewing was told the owner's parents were living there.  They were both there during the viewing and when I left I asked them what their plans were for moving - they said they weren't looking until the house was under offer.  Disappointing.

allIcouldwishfor

If your vendor has been honest on their forms, your solicitor will probably already have requested this. 

dimbo61

The EPC should be on the advert with the estate agents !
They can't sell the property without an EPC.
The GSC is a gas safety certificate which all landlords need.
EICR is the electric inspection and condition report which again is needed if renting.
To say a friend is living in the property ? Why is the owner not living in the property ?

GDB2222

Your question is really whether to pull out on the basis that you could be badly messed around? On the other hand, this could go perfectly smoothly. 

You have two potential problems:
1. You go ahead on the assumption the vendors will give vacant possession, contracts are exchanged, and then when it comes to completion the vendors are unable to give vacant possession. The problem is that, under the normal contract, there are very few penalties for the vendors, if they don't complete, and it's quite hard to recover even your expenses. 

You can possibly deal with this by having a non-standard contract, under which the vendors agree to pay a penalty if they fail to complete. But, of course, the vendors may not agree to that, and you may therefore never get as far as exchanging contracts, and you'll lose all the fees you've spent.


2. The other possibility is that you refuse to exchange until the property is actually empty. (Very sensible IMHO.) The occupants refuse to move, and that's it. You never get as far as exchanging contracts and, again, you've lost whatever you have spent on mortgage fees, solicitors, etc.