Trying to buy but tenant has not moved out

lookstraightahead

You need to think of the tenant in the same way as an "owner". There are so many sellers who won't move out until they find their "dream home" as it's too much stress / hassle etc. It's no different for a tenant. In fact, the tenant probably wants to move even less than a seller who is happy eventually to move.

canaldumidi

w12ee3e said:

I'm currently a bit worried that the present tenant of the flat I'm trying to buy has not moved, despite numerous reassurances  You are right to be worried

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. So naturally you neeed vacant possession

This was meant to be a fairly swift cash transaction. If you knew there was a tenant in the property, it should have been obvious that it was likely NOT to be a swift 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.

Not necessary- it' a standard clause in ALL contracts (though gets removed in BTL sales).

The advice on this forum is never to spend money on surveys, legals etc on a purchase where there is a tenant until after the tenant has left, due to the uncertainty of when or if the tenant will leave.

It can take the seller 6 - 12 months to evict a tenant if they have nowhere else to go or do not wish to leave.

saajan_12

w12ee3e said:

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. - the agent won't really know the tenant's plans with a modicum of certainty - unless the tenant has served their own notice, agreed to an early termination in writing, or bailiffs have been called, then it could be ages.. 
 
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. - all prob part of the agent's sales patter and wishful thinking.. 

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. - yes, that's a standard clause that the property is sold with "vacant possession" ie if the seller can't deliver you an empty property then you don't actually buy.. however practically that'll be on the day you're supposed to move, money sent to solicitor, potential hotel / storage costs and then have to claim it all back from the seller. 

Anyone?

Legally with the standard clauses the seller is responsible for providing "vacant possession" of the property (make sure your solicitor knows this as there is another common option for BTLs).

Enforcement is by serving the seller with a notice and ultimately making a monetary claim for your damages as a result of their failure to ensure the property is vacant on completion day ie for any storage, temp accommodation, extra moving, legal costs etc. The tenant is not part of that contract so there's no way for you to actually make them leave - that's up to the seller to negotiate with the tenant, or serve notice and go through the courts (could take 12 months)

Practically, that's a lot of headache and doesn't actually get you vacant possession. So many advise you wait until they actually get the property vacant before you exchange. That way you don't have to hold on for the legal hoops and can just look elsewhere. 

Amixo3032

You need to ensure that the tenant has been evicted And left the property before you exchange And complete on the property.
You will become the default landlord and have to deal with people like  that other person who’s buying a house in this chat ,
I suggest you either put up with the fact your buying a house with tenants in SITU 
Or if you don’t like that pull out and find another if I was you. As they’ll be stuck there for 18+ months at this rate with OMICRON ect 

SavingPennies_2

A lot of the comments on here are worst case scenario so don't let it panic you. I was in the same boat, the tenant took a bit longer than expected but moved out in the end, sometimes they are (understandably) struggling to find somewhere else to live or are taking their time to find the right place, it's not that they are wanting to wait until they are evicted or are deliberately digging their heels in. The main thing is not to exchange/ complete until they are 100% gone, like go round yourself to check - don't take anyone's word for it! 

lookstraightahead

SavingPennies_2 said:

A lot of the comments on here are worst case scenario so don't let it panic you. I was in the same boat, the tenant took a bit longer than expected but moved out in the end, sometimes they are (understandably) struggling to find somewhere else to live or are taking their time to find the right place, it's not that they are wanting to wait until they are evicted or are deliberately digging their heels in. The main thing is not to exchange/ complete until they are 100% gone, like go round yourself to check - don't take anyone's word for it! 

I get what you are saying, but it is a huge deal. Our vendors accidentally ticked the 'no' box for vacant possession and we ensured they redid that page before we went any further (and they were owners, not tenants).

MaryNB

w12ee3e said:

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?

The agent has no control over the tenant and can't give any assurances. Unless the landlord has already gone through the S21/S8 notice period and a court hearing for an eviction order is imminent, the ball is very much in the tenant's court.

Do you have any idea if an S21 notice has been issued? Did the agent mention anything about the tenant looking for a council property? 

If they need a council property they'll stay put until a court order has been issued and the bailiffs have turned up - that's the worst case scenario. Most councils will instruct them to do that if they want social housing.

A more likely scenario is because there's huge demand for rental properties in many areas the tenant may be struggling to find somewhere else, especially if they have pets or are currently paying low rent. Or they could be purchasing a house and want to wait until their purchase has completed. Or they are just unwilling to move until forced to do so.