Trying to buy but tenant has not moved out

w12ee3e

I'm currently a bit worried that the present tenant of the flat I'm trying to buy has not moved, despite numerous reassurances that they were meant to be gone by the agent. I do not want to buy with a tenant in situ, this is a FTB not a BTL. This was meant to be a fairly swift cash transaction.

Just wondering if there's some way that my solicitors can put some sort of conditional clause in the contract whereby the sale only proceeds on the basis of a vacant property only.

Anyone?

emmajones1976

Walk away. He could sit there for another 18 months and make things very difficult.

RAS

There is no way either your solicitor (or mortgage provider) would allow you to buy with the tenant in situ.

And no way of being confident the tenant will be gone by next Christmas. I wouldn't rely on anything the EA says as they no nothing about the tenant's real situation. Even if they intend to move. they may struggle to find a new rental,

Your solicitor could ask for confirmation of the date when the S21 (or S8) was sent but if the seller has to evict, assume it's going to be months.

Read Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants  although the Covid changes no longer apply

sammyjammy

OP suggests there is no mortgage (cash transaction) so if OP is happy to continue with the purchase the solicitor wouldn't care if the tenant was still in situ.

OP you need ot really find out what the situation is now before you spend any money, if you exchange with the tenant still in the flat then the chances are you will become a landlord and have all the hassle of eviction which could take a long time.

GoogleMeNow

If you are obtaining a mortgage to purchase this property, the condition of the mortgage will be that it will be on a vacant possession basis, so that is the "conditional clause", but only the courts can evict the tenants if they do not want to go and that is taking over a year at the moment.  

Your solicitor cannot assist you in this.  You are entirely dependent upon the seller obtaining vacant possession in order for this purchase to progress.

Read all the other threads on this very subject.  My advice would be to keep looking for another suitable property, while keeping this one on the back burner until the tenants have gone.

user1977

w12ee3e said:

Just wondering if there's some way that my solicitors can put some sort of conditional clause in the contract whereby the sale only proceeds on the basis of a vacant property only.

That's a completely standard clause and how everyone normally intends transactions to work. It doesn't actually make the tenant move out though. 

Leggitte

Your only hope is that the tenant will leave by his own choice. As mentioned above, he could go the court route which can take 1+ year easily.

Alias_Omega

I am currently renting, my rental property is up for sale, a sale has been agreed, the surveyor has been around.

I am in the process of buying a house, my surveyor is booked for the 10th Jan.

If my landlord issues with me with a S21 notice. I will do my best to ignore it. If its delivered via email, i will simply deny i have received it. If its received via Royal Mail, again not received. If its received via a Tracked Postal method, only then will i acknowledge it. 

The S21 is an invitation to leave, however i can remain beyond that point and only a court can evict me. I may be liable for the court costs, if evicted (£500).

I cannot see any reason why i wont be evicted; all the prescribed stuff that the landlord has provided (Gas Safety Check, How to Rent Booklet etc) is all valid. 

When i have purchased my new house, and ready to move into it. I will only move then. Its very likely this will be after the S21 notice has expired. Rent will still be paid post the S21 date. I don't care about the buyer, this is my home!

I am not a bad guy, i am just waiting to buy a house...I am also not going to take a 6 month AST on a new property, when the overlap is maybe 2-3 weeks or more.

The landlord can beg me to leave at the end of the S21, however i shall need to move my items into storage, then rent a room or so. That will cost money, and I will only really-really do that if the Landlord offers me to  a) Pay for the removals & b) Pay for the storage (so maybe £2500-3000).

Note - All advice is provided by the "Shelter" charity. The council will only 'house me' if evicted by the court. Making myself intentionally homeless is not permitted. I have to stay, if i was going to take that line of accommodation.

Does this sound familiar? You need to ensure that the tenant has been evicted / left the property before you exchange / complete on the property. You will become the default landlord and have to deal with people like me.

Slithery

Alias_Omega said:

If its received via Royal Mail, again not received. If its received via a Tracked Postal method, only then will i acknowledge it.

Not true. All the sender needs to do is get proof of postage. Mail is legally deemed to have arrived 2 days later. This is why it's suggested to always use normal mail instead of registered delivery as it can't be declined by the receiving party.

Owleyes00

This comes up often (guilty of a thread bemoaning frustration at a tenant myself) and is frankly a complete nightmare for everyone involved.

We were lucky and the tenant was given temporary housing by the council 3 days before the expiration of the S21 and left on the last day. It was horrible and stressful waiting to see if they would actually leave.

Very much a role of the dice. My neighbour was renting, was issued S21 and out three weeks later bish bash bosh🤷🏼‍♀️

The only advice that seems to come up here in terms of practical things you can do to move the process along is offer a financial incentive to begger off.

RAS

Slithery said:

Alias_Omega said:

If its received via Royal Mail, again not received. If its received via a Tracked Postal method, only then will i acknowledge it.

Not true. All the sender needs to do is get proof of postage. Mail is legally deemed to have arrived 2 days later. This is why it's suggested to always use normal mail instead of registered delivery as it can't be declined by the receiving party.

Not quite. The recommendation is two copies first class, with certificate of posting.