Vacant possession of a property currently rented by parents

eddddy

Tuikhe said:

From our phone conversation what I understand is that the landlord wants us to pay him to keep the content. But we don’t want that, the alternative is for us to move out so he can remove his things. He doesn’t seem to be concerned about me claiming a breach of contract as he knew from the beginning that my family and I would live here. My parents have completed the occupiers consent form for the lender 

So you think the situation is essentially this...

The landlord is saying "Buy my furniture off me - or else I will punish you by making you and your family move out of your home with all your belongings for a few days".

That seems very extreme. Is your landlord really that evil?


If that really is the case, I guess your reply could be that you won't proceed on that basis. But TBH, I find it hard to believe that's the real reason.

Tuikhe

eddddy said:

Tuikhe said:

From our phone conversation what I understand is that the landlord wants us to pay him to keep the content. But we don’t want that, the alternative is for us to move out so he can remove his things. He doesn’t seem to be concerned about me claiming a breach of contract as he knew from the beginning that my family and I would live here. My parents have completed the occupiers consent form for the lender 

So you think the situation is essentially this...

The landlord is saying "Buy my furniture off me - or else I will punish you by making you and your family move out of your home with all your belongings for a few days".

That seems very extreme. Is your landlord really that evil?


If that really is the case, I guess your reply could be that you won't proceed on that basis. But TBH, I find it hard to believe that's the real reason.

Well that’s basically it. They sent me a letter after the phone call to say if we choose to buy the furnitures then we can stay or else we need to move out a week before completion leaving the property with everything we own which is pointless. I don’t know how to post pictures here, let if there’s an option I’ll post the letter. You don’t know my landlord. This guy doesn’t value his words, the only reason im still proceeding is because of my elderly parents who live in the property otherwise I would’ve pulled out ages ago after he went back on his words several times. When the offer was accepted he basically said we won’t have to move out and asked us to pay rent till then which is fair and i agreed 

Tuikhe

Update: I just spoke to the estate agent, they’ve said they’re being rather stupid and greedy. If they want to collect anything from the house they can arrange a date and we won’t have to move out and that she’s sent an email to both our solicitors to ensure that’s in the contract 

74jax

Honestly as I've already said, do not speak to the estate agents. They are paid by their client.

Your solicitor is the one working for you estate agents can not change contracts.  It just delays things and mixes messages. 

eddddy

74jax said:

Honestly as I've already said, do not speak to the estate agents. They are paid by their client.

Your solicitor is the one working for you estate agents can not change contracts.  It just delays things and mixes messages. 

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, in general.

If the OP is correct, and the seller is just being silly - in order to squeeze a few hundred pounds out of the OP...

... a calm discussion with an estate agent (who should be a skilled negotiator) might get better results than a 'cold forthright' letter from a solicitor.

Normally, a big part of an estate agent's job is to do 'sales progression', which means sorting out these kinds of problems when they arise between buyer and seller.


BUT having said that.. I'm not really sure why a sales estate agent would be involved here, as a landlord is selling to their tenant's relative - so presumably no 'introduction' has taken place.

babyblade41

A really good estate agent will be very experienced in smoothing over muddy waters .. make use of them and you will certainly find out if they are any good or not .
Basically use both agent and solicitor , it's what they are being paid for 

Tuikhe

eddddy said:

74jax said:

Honestly as I've already said, do not speak to the estate agents. They are paid by their client.

Your solicitor is the one working for you estate agents can not change contracts.  It just delays things and mixes messages. 

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, in general.

If the OP is correct, and the seller is just being silly - in order to squeeze a few hundred pounds out of the OP...

... a calm discussion with an estate agent (who should be a skilled negotiator) might get better results than a 'cold forthright' letter from a solicitor.

Normally, a big part of an estate agent's job is to do 'sales progression', which means sorting out these kinds of problems when they arise between buyer and seller.


BUT having said that.. I'm not really sure why a sales estate agent would be involved here, as a landlord is selling to their tenant's relative - so presumably no 'introduction' has taken place.

So basically landlord initially agreed to sell to us privately and then pulled out to put the property on the market and see if he can get a higher price. But due to personal reasons and elderly parent being involved I’ve decided to buy it from him at the high price through the agent. And to be fair, EA was fuming hearing what the landlord was asking us to do and she said she won’t allow that to happen. So I’m hoping she can put some sense into the sellers 

Sunsaru

Well seeing that he's being like that you could hint that if you pull out, he'd have to go through the process of evicting your parents. Could take years....

rexmedorum

Tuikhe said:

... He wants us to pay for the content but most of it was purchased by us with his permission to dispose of old worn out furnitures. We don’t want any of his things so happy for him to remove anything that’s left of his. ...

Are you sure the landlord doesn't consider the stuff to be bought to be his? Unless you have explicitly agreed differently (and have it in writing), you'd have to leave stuff behind as per inventory if you moved out (so that would probably include the stuff you bought).

saajan_12

Tuikhe said:

theoretica said:

I am not sure if this would work, but it would be worth asking if changing the tenancy agreement from your parents to you would make things legally simpler. 

From our phone conversation what I understand is that the landlord wants us to pay him to keep the content. But we don’t want that, the alternative is for us to move out so he can remove his things. He doesn’t seem to be concerned about me claiming a breach of contract as he knew from the beginning that my family and I would live here. My parents have completed the occupiers consent form for the lender 

This may be what the LL is focusing on, but the solicitor may also be worried about being able to provide vacant possession if the tenants (ie parents) don't leave, and hence the buyer (ie you)  claiming damages or the lender refusing to lend. 

Flag this to your solicitor and be clear about what you are / are not willing to do, to get their suggestion on wording that works for all. The moving out, formally ending tenancy, then exchanging to guarantee vacant possession is one suggested solution, but not one that works for you. 

* Perhaps the parents could end their tenancy, sort out deposit etc, and you become tenants, with a mutual surrender upon completion - that way you can't claim damages due to a 3rd party (parents) not leaving. However may be significantly more admin to redo all the paperwork etc for the start of your tenancy. 
* Or exchange & complete on the same day

If its really just about the belongings, then that's a bit bizarre.. simple solution is parents could allow their LL to collect his property a week early, with them staying in residence and tenancy continuing until the completion date. 
His property includes any furniture etc that he expects you to leave behind (need to understand whether he considers your new items to be replacements for the things you disposed of, and hence his)