Landlord’s right to enter: 24 hours’ notice before visiting a property for viewing

Slithery

Are you planning to sell to a LL who will keep all of the tenants or to sell it as a vacant property?

If the latter then you should wait until the property is empty before marketing it.

itayshap

So basically if i want to conduct viewings in order to sell the house i don't have any legal structure to do so. 
There are no time and communication protocols regarding this specific reason to entering the property, according to the law, right?

Thus my only two options are:
1. ask politely the tenants to allow me to do so.
2. wait till the end of the tenancy and start showing the vacant flats.

Is that correct?

Thank you,

Itay

MobileSaver

itayshap said:

Thus my only two options are:
1. ask politely the tenants to allow me to do so.
2. wait till the end of the tenancy and start showing the vacant flats.

Yes, those are your two options.

babyblade41

OP , you have to understand as a LL this is a tenants home first & foremost .. 

I doubt you would like someone giving you 24hours  notice to come & look at your house for reasons that are not beneficial to you.

If it's an HMO then sell it as one , maybe a couple of tenants will let you in if you make a financial offer to do so.

As long as the rents are all up to date then an investor will be more interested in the figures 

macman

itayshap said:

So basically if i want to conduct viewings in order to sell the house i don't have any legal structure to do so. 
There are no time and communication protocols regarding this specific reason to entering the property, according to the law, right?

Thus my only two options are:
1. ask politely the tenants to allow me to do so.
2. wait till the end of the tenancy and start showing the vacant flats.

Is that correct?

Thank you,

Itay

Tenancies don't just 'end', unless the tenant themself ends the tenancy with due notice, or a court ends it by granting a possession order. They don't just 'end' when you give notice, or when a new owner takes over the property: the new owners inherits the tenancies as the new LL.
If you seek to end the tenancy and obtain a possession order, that could well take up to a year if the tenant decides not to move out at the end of the notice period, given the current court logjam. For that reason alone, unless you are intending to sell without vacant possession, it's entirely pointless to market the property now, except as a BTL.
Even more so in your case, as the likelihood of all 5 tenants agreeing to leave without a possession order is extremely low: unless you buy them out.

grumiofoundation

itayshap said:

So basically if i want to conduct viewings in order to sell the house i don't have any legal structure to do so. 
There are no time and communication protocols regarding this specific reason to entering the property, according to the law, right?

Thus my only two options are:
1. ask politely the tenants to allow me to do so.
2. wait till the end of the tenancy and start showing the vacant flats.

Is that correct?

Thank you,

Itay

When will the tenancies end (see post above this doesn't just 'happen')?


For clarity have you asked the tenants if you can conduct viewing? Are they aware of your intention to sell/to give them notice to end the tenancy?

canaldumidi

itayshap said:

So basically if i want to conduct viewings in order to sell the house i don't have any legal structure to do so. 
There are no time and communication protocols regarding this specific reason to entering the property, according to the law, right?

Thus my only two options are:
1. ask politely the tenants to allow me to do so.
2. wait till the end of the tenancy and start showing the vacant flats.

3. pursuade the tenants to allow access eg by offering them reduced rent or similar to compensate them for the inconvenience
Is that correct?

Thank you,

Itay

Yes- in practice.

Legally, as pointed out earlier, the Housing Act gives you no such right. Any rights of access you may have are based on

* Common Law - historic decisions made by (higher) courts, which lower courts must follow - assuming the circumstances are the same as in the earlier decision

* Contract Law - assuming your contract with the tenant specifies some right of access

* The implied right referred to earlier (1985 LL & T Act), which relates soley to inspections relating to potential repair issues

Against these various rights you may have as a LL, the T also has (pretty clear) implied rights to 'Quiet Enjoyment', granted by Common Law (as above), which in essence say a T has a right not to be disturbed in their home life without good reason.

As you can see, these rghts (the LL's Vs the T's) can conflict, and in each individual case only a court could weigh up the relative strengths of each party's rights to determine which should take precedent.

So, end of the day, if the T refuses you access (verbally, in writing, and/or physically) you would have to apply to a court for an access injunction, which a judge might or might not grant, and might or might do in your required time-frame, and for which the court might make you or the T liable for the related court and legal costs....

For additional context, look at what the Health and Safety Executive advise if a tenant refuses access for the purpose of an annual gas inspection (a statutory obligation on a landlord):

A landlord has to show that they took all reasonable steps to comply with the law. HSE recommends the following best practice in these circumstances and strongly advises that a record be kept of all correspondence with the tenants:

• leave the tenant a notice stating that an attempt was made to complete the gas safety check and provide your contact details;
• write to the tenant explaining that a safety check is a legal requirement and that it is for the tenants own safety. Give the tenant the opportunity to arrange their own appointment;
• HSE inspectors will look for at least three attempts to complete the gas safety check, including the above suggestions; however the approach will need to be appropriate to each circumstance. It would ultimately be for a court to decide if the action taken was reasonable depending upon the individual circumstances.
• It is a good idea to include arrangements for access in the tenancy agreement.

So even in that scenario, there is no automatic legal right of access.

buythedip

Rent seeker itayshap said:

So basically if i want to conduct viewings in order to sell the house i don't have any legal structure to do so. 
There are no time and communication protocols regarding this specific reason to entering the property, according to the law, right?

Thus my only two options are:
1. ask politely the tenants to allow me to do so.
2. wait till the end of the tenancy and start showing the vacant flats.

Is that correct?

Thank you,

Itay

Rent seeking is not always gravy. 

pinkshoes

itayshap said:

So basically if i want to conduct viewings in order to sell the house i don't have any legal structure to do so. 
There are no time and communication protocols regarding this specific reason to entering the property, according to the law, right?

Thus my only two options are:
1. ask politely the tenants to allow me to do so.
2. wait till the end of the tenancy and start showing the vacant flats.

Is that correct?

Thank you,

Itay

1 is correct. You might need to bribe them with a cash payment for the inconvenience.

2 is only if the tenants move out at the end of the tenancy. You will need to issue them all with an S21 eviction notice.

Ultimately this is their home so you have no right to just show people round. Access is for essential things only e.g. repairs.

GDB2222

Is the plan to sell the property as a single block, with tenants in place? If so, bung it in an auction.