Buying a house which currently has tenants

paulj2021

Hello, one of the properties I’m looking at to buy as my own home currently has tenants (their tenancy agreement is due to expire in a few months time) it may possibly be an HMO, and I get the impression that at least one of the tenants are not 100% happy about having to leave - I’m wondering, as I would probably have to exchange before the tenancy end, should I place any special requirements on the seller to ensure they repair any tenant related damage etc before completion? Would it be reasonable for example to ask them for the property to be vacated and then fully cleared/cleaned a week or two prior to exchange? What would be the insurance situation after exchange, would I effectively be their landlord until they move out? Thanks!

root

I wouldn't trust a vacating seller to do anything more than a bodge rather than a proper quality repair - why would they?

AdrianC

Will you be buying with a normal residential mortgage?

Your solicitor (and, if mortgaged, lender) will not allow you to exchange until the tenants have vacated the property.

The contracts you exchange will require vacant possession on completion. The vendor cannot guarantee that unless he has vacant possession on exchange. The condition at exchange is the condition you are contracting to buy.

paulj2021

AdrianC said:

Will you be buying with a normal residential mortgage?

Your solicitor (and, if mortgaged, lender) will not allow you to exchange until the tenants have vacated the property.

The contracts you exchange will require vacant possession on completion. The vendor cannot guarantee that unless he has vacant possession on exchange. The condition at exchange is the condition you are contracting to buy.

I’ll be a cash buyer. I’m just wondering if there’s a way to ensure the seller gives themselves enough time to rectify any issues between the tenants leaving and completion - if the tenants leave just the day before for example and leave damage needing repair 

[Deleted User]

AdrianC said:

Will you be buying with a normal residential mortgage?

Your solicitor (and, if mortgaged, lender) will not allow you to exchange until the tenants have vacated the property.

The contracts you exchange will require vacant possession on completion. The vendor cannot guarantee that unless he has vacant possession on exchange. The condition at exchange is the condition you are contracting to buy.

People keep posting this but it’s not true. The OP can exchange whilst the tenants are still in-situ. Would I recommend it?.....unlikely but neither the mortgage lender or solicitor won’t prevent it.  

It’s the vendor who is taking a massive gamble if vacant possession is not in place at exchange of contracts. 

swingaloo2

Just because the agreement is due to expire in a few months does not mean they will be leaving in a few months.  You say they seem unhappy about leaving, this could result in them still being there in 18 months-2 years. 

GDB2222

the simple solution is to wait with exchange until the property is empty. Then inspect it, and that’s what you will be getting. The usual contract leaves 28 days between exchange and completion. You could shorten that to say a week, so the landlord is not stuck with an empty property for long. 

MaryNB

The tenancy agreement won't expire, it will automatically renew. What you are thinking of is the end of the initial fixed term. Unless the tenants hand in their notice it will automatically become a rolling tenancy. Tenancy agreements don't expire, they are ended by the tenants or by a court issued eviction order. 

user1977

Lover_of_Lycra said:

AdrianC said:

Will you be buying with a normal residential mortgage?

Your solicitor (and, if mortgaged, lender) will not allow you to exchange until the tenants have vacated the property.

The contracts you exchange will require vacant possession on completion. The vendor cannot guarantee that unless he has vacant possession on exchange. The condition at exchange is the condition you are contracting to buy.

People keep posting this but it’s not true. The OP can exchange whilst the tenants are still in-situ. Would I recommend it?.....unlikely but neither the mortgage lender or solicitor won’t prevent it.  

Indeed. The lender has nothing to do with exchange - they're not a party to the contract (they simply won't complete if vacant possession isn't being provided on the completion date). All the solicitors do is advise. It may of course be good advice (to the purchaser, and even moreso to the vendor) not to exchange if there's any doubt about whether vacant possession will be achieved by the completion date. But ultimately it's up to the parties to the contract what they want to do.

Niallworldwide

A good solicitor will advise you i recently purchased a tenanted property we kept the tenants on and re negotiated the rental agreement through our solicitor 

sharp910sh

You may end up being their landlord if they do not leave, which will be a different kettle of fish. Especially with the 6 months notice period, could take months after that if they do not leave. Especially if one is not happy about leaving. Remember you cannot evict a tenant without a court order and bailiffs.