Buying a property that’s occupied with tenants

[Deleted User]

Looking for some advice…

I’ve recently made an offer on a property that is currently occupied by tenants. The sale is offered on vacant possession basis and hence was listed as “chain free”.

I’ve since been made aware that the current occupiers have been allowed by the seller to remain until they find somewhere else to live, meaning I cannot exchange until they vacate and no date can be set for this until they’ve found a property to live in, and obviously there is no incentive for them to hurry. 

Is this normal and should I be concerned? What would be the obvious next step as understandably I don’t wish for the process to drag on any longer than it already does

Tiglet2

Oh dear.  Please read the sticky's at the top of this forum and any other threads regarding sitting tenants.

The only parties that can end a tenancy are the tenants themselves or the courts.  It could take until 2023 to get them out, if they don't want to go, or need to be evicted by the courts so that the council have to rehouse them.

If you are prepared to wait until the tenants either leave or are evicted, then carry on.  Otherwise, find another property.

comeandgo

This could take a very long time, years.  I’d be looking at other properties.  

theartfullodger

...and if tenants moved in early enough (rent act tenancy), very very very unlikely to be able to evict .

Even if there's a shiny new AST signed etc.  Still actually a rent act tenancy.

NameUnavailable

Deleted User said:

Looking for some advice…

Is this normal and should I be concerned? What would be the obvious next step as understandably I don’t wish for the process to drag on any longer than it already does

No, not normal and yes, you should be concerned.

Don't spend any money on searches/surveys etc. No need to 'pull out' just leave your offer on the table but keep looking for another property as you have no idea when/if you could actually buy this one as it is entirely dependent on how long the tenants take to leave.

lookstraightahead

Move on. Quickly.

lookstraightahead

Deleted User said:

Looking for some advice…

I’ve recently made an offer on a property that is currently occupied by tenants. The sale is offered on vacant possession basis and hence was listed as “chain free”.

I’ve since been made aware that the current occupiers have been allowed by the seller to remain until they find somewhere else to live, meaning I cannot exchange until they vacate and no date can be set for this until they’ve found a property to live in, and obviously there is no incentive for them to hurry. 

Is this normal and should I be concerned? What would be the obvious next step as understandably I don’t wish for the process to drag on any longer than it already does

Landlords don't 'Allow' tenants to stay, the tenants decide, as it's their home. 

PRAISETHESUN

I agree with the above - unless you're prepared to wait in the event that the tenant doesn't leave voluntarily (have you spoken to them to see what their intentions actually are?), I'd be walking away. The eviction process takes a long time at the best of times, and there is already a backlog in the courts. Has S21 notice been served? Without it the 12+ month eviction timeline hasn't even started yet...

Ultimately you're not the property owner/LL so you have no say over what happens or how long it takes (not that the LL really does either anyway), so all you can do is wait. Under no circumstances should you exchange/complete on the sale until the tenants have vacated.

[Deleted User]

All we’ve been told is the tenants have decided to buy a property of their own, instead of renting again, but we’ve been advised not to exchange until they’ve moved out, so this would instantly mean waiting for them to buy and complete, and I’m not sure if we’re being unreasonable in not wanting to wait this long or whether the seller is being unreasonable expecting us to, especially as we weren’t told about this when offering on “chain free” 

GrumpyDil

The seller wants his cake and to eat it.  Ideally what he should have done is wait for the tenants to move out and then market the property.

It's certainly not chain free as sounds like it is dependant upon the tenant's purchase so is a normal chain.

Your choice if you decide to wait or not but if the tenant's purchase falls through and the tenants decide not to move out then you are talking at least a year for the landlord to evict. 

Cakeguts

Find a different property. You could be waiting several years for the tenants to decide to move into something they have bought or the landlord evicts them.