Inherited property with tenant in situ

theartfullodger

Re when tenant 1st moved in, you say "at least 15 years".  Ask tenant when they 1st moved in.  If before 27 February 1997 then they'd almost certainly be an Assured tenant, not an AST tenant (regardless of any signed existing or new AST). Please let us know what they say.

Have you served s3 & s48 notice(s) yet (Assuming this is England)??? If not possible fines and criminal record (s3) and no rent due (s48).  But were there a new tenancy agreement (very soon..) signed by both that wouldn't be required.


If tenant moved in after 27/02/1997 & you want them to sign a new AST, offer one at REDUCED rent.  Most tenants would sign.  Do it with all necessary paperwork and then 6 months later s21 should be useable and/or rent increase after 12 months.  At the moment the issue would be you don;t have all the necessary paperwork. Was there ever a deposit?? 


Be aware HMRC have the power to tax landlord at market rent rather than what paperwork states ( - a bleedin' obvious fiddle thus controlled, and yes I appreciate you ain;t trying to do that).

nurse1980

She definitely moved after 1998 as it was our family home until 1997 and there was another tenant in there for two years after that. 

Yes I’m in England. No deposit taken, I have asked the tenant. The problem is that the deposit amount on the current tenancy agreement from 2008 is left blank? 

I’m hoping I won’t have to issue a new tenancy agreement, just serve a notice to say of change of landlord and my address? 

We have the gas check, EICR and the EPC. 

Pixie5740

nurse1980 said:

She definitely moved after 1998 as it was our family home until 1997 and there was another tenant in there for two years after that. 

Yes I’m in England. No deposit taken, I have asked the tenant. The problem is that the deposit amount on the current tenancy agreement from 2008 is left blank? 

I’m hoping I won’t have to issue a new tenancy agreement, just serve a notice to say of change of landlord and my address? 

We have the gas check, EICR and the EPC. 

That isn’t a problem. 

canaldumidi

nurse1980 said:

How will I know that the tenancy agreement from 2008 is valid? Is it worse paying a solicitor to have a look at it? 

The 2008 (12 month) fixed term ended in 2009, and the AST then became a Contractual Periodic AST.

The 2008 agreement continues ad infinitum till the tenancy ends or the agreement is replaced.

It is valid unless the tenants and landlord have since signed a replacement agreement.

The tenants are under no obligation to sign a replacement agreement even if you offer them one, which is pointless anyway.

If you decide to evict using a S21 notice, before serving it, make sure it is valid in every respect. Read:

S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)

This is acurate other than the altered timescales due to coronovirus.

nurse1980

canaldumidi said:

nurse1980 said:

How will I know that the tenancy agreement from 2008 is valid? Is it worse paying a solicitor to have a look at it? 

The 2008 (12 month) fixed term ended in 2009, and the AST then became a Contractual Periodic AST.

The 2008 agreement continues ad infinitum till the tenancy ends or the agreement is replaced.

It is valid unless the tenants and landlord have since signed a replacement agreement.

The tenants are under no obligation to sign a replacement agreement even if you offer them one, which is pointless anyway.

If you decide to evict using a S21 notice, before serving it, make sure it is valid in every respect. Read:

S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)

This is acurate other than the altered timescales due to coronovirus.

Hi, if the tenancy agreement was done in 2008 the how to rent booklet etc wouldn’t have been given? Would I have to give that now? 

Pixie5740

nurse1980 said:

canaldumidi said:

nurse1980 said:

How will I know that the tenancy agreement from 2008 is valid? Is it worse paying a solicitor to have a look at it? 

The 2008 (12 month) fixed term ended in 2009, and the AST then became a Contractual Periodic AST.

The 2008 agreement continues ad infinitum till the tenancy ends or the agreement is replaced.

It is valid unless the tenants and landlord have since signed a replacement agreement.

The tenants are under no obligation to sign a replacement agreement even if you offer them one, which is pointless anyway.

If you decide to evict using a S21 notice, before serving it, make sure it is valid in every respect. Read:

S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)

This is acurate other than the altered timescales due to coronovirus.

Hi, if the tenancy agreement was done in 2008 the how to rent booklet etc wouldn’t have been given? Would I have to give that now? 

As I have said previously on this thread, backing it up with a link to Shelter, the right to rent booklet is not required for tenancies that started before the Deregulation Act came into force. 

lookstraightahead

nurse1980 said:

The LHA is £136 for a three bed. 

By spending that amount I will considerably increase the value of the house. This is a long term plan to rent the house so I believe I will recoup the costs 

When my MIL died we were going to do up the house and turn it into a rental. I had been a landlord in my twenties (in the nineties) fir a flat and thought it would be easy.
After working out all the rules nowadays and risk, time and effort it takes to be a landlord (it's a job in itself) we decided against it. We didn't even do it up (agents advice was that no matter what we put in it, buyers have their own taste and often new kitchens etc don't add value). We just sold it.
it had been my husbands family home and we sold to someone who had the time for the tlc it needed.
you have a lot on your plate already, we don't know what's going to happen to the housing market. I do think it's going to take ages with this tenant so that's the first thing to deal with.

canaldumidi

nurse1980 said:

canaldumidi said:

nurse1980 said:

How will I know that the tenancy agreement from 2008 is valid? Is it worse paying a solicitor to have a look at it? 

The 2008 (12 month) fixed term ended in 2009, and the AST then became a Contractual Periodic AST.

The 2008 agreement continues ad infinitum till the tenancy ends or the agreement is replaced.

It is valid unless the tenants and landlord have since signed a replacement agreement.

The tenants are under no obligation to sign a replacement agreement even if you offer them one, which is pointless anyway.

If you decide to evict using a S21 notice, before serving it, make sure it is valid in every respect. Read:

S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)

This is acurate other than the altered timescales due to coronovirus.

Hi, if the tenancy agreement was done in 2008 the how to rent booklet etc wouldn’t have been given? Would I have to give that now? 

If you go through the checklist I linked for you, it will tell you exactly what might invalidate the S21 in your specific circumstances. Including your query above.

S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)

By answering 'No' to question 6, you will jump to Q 44 (missing out the 'how to rent' book, and other, questions).

AdrianC

nurse1980 said:

The LHA is £136 for a three bed. 

By spending that amount I will considerably increase the value of the house. This is a long term plan to rent the house so I believe I will recoup the costs 

OK, so the difference between £93 and £136 is £43 per week.

That's 814 weeks to recoup £35k expenditure on the property. You should break even on that somewhen around the start of 2037 if you issue s21 today and the tenant doesn't prolong vacating the property.

It will, obvs, be quicker if the refurb allows you to find a tenant who can pay more than the LHA.

nurse1980

I would look at privately renting the properly for £850 - £900 a month. So would be more than LHA