Keys not given at time of completion?

Adezoo

Brie said:

I will agree that having keys is not relevant.  I would suggest a locksmith rather than a battering ram to enter though if only to lessen the damage being done.  Either way it may be a shock to the tenants who may not even know the house has actually been sold.  

Would it be legal to enter a house occupied by tenants without giving any notice if one knows they are there?  It's not an emergency.

I suggested that but I was told it’s illegal because people are in. 

Adezoo

Ath_Wat said:

sevenhills said:

Ath_Wat said:

No, but I would buy a house without the keys.  The keys are irrelevant.  Keys can be lost or broken. There could be 20 people wandering round with sets of keys.

Which is why I said the OP is not telling us everything. That is because he is posting about a friend's situation.

I don't see how that is relevant to having or not having the keys.

Having the keys confers no rights.  Once the house is yours and unoccupied you can enter it with keys or break the door down, both perfectly legally.  Once the house is yours but still occupied you can't enter with the keys or in any other way.  I'd buy a house without keys without batting an eyelid.  Keys are meaningless.

Thank you, what’s the need of a key if you would basically be in no rights to call a locksmith when there are tenants in. I suggested that at first but once I heard they have tenants they didn’t expect, it changed everything  

Adezoo

lisyloo said:

Adezoo said:

sevenhills said:

Ath_Wat said:

No, but I would buy a house without the keys.  The keys are irrelevant.  Keys can be lost or broken. There could be 20 people wandering round with sets of keys.

Which is why I said the OP is not telling us everything. That is because he is posting about a friend's situation.

Rest your case, tell me what I didn’t say? 

There are some very pertinent questions still not answered

. have your friends notified the tenants of the sale?
. are they aware they have legal responsibilities some of which are life and death (I’m referring to carbon monoxide). This is not their fault but they cannot continue to hope that someone else will sort this situation out for them.
. have they checked whether they have legal insurance cover - 10 mins job which could be incredibly valuable. That is something that could be done right now.
. do they know for a fact that the tenants won’t move and that a lengthy eviction process is inevitable? Have they checked this independently of the seller?

I think there were other questions as well.

The house went through a late completion because the seller couldn’t confirm the house was vacant. The seller was given a 10 days reminder to complete, so that the sale would go through. In this case, the more you delay, the more you’ll have to compensate the buyer for it. The seller then confirmed that the tenants have left and went through completion. When you complete, you essential get the keys but they were delaying a bit because they didn’t have the keys. A bit later, they “discover” the tenants never left the house. The tenants said they were going to leave just before competition, they just needed time to move out. But the seller would have had to check to declare the house as vacant? 

If you get a mortgage you need to get insurance, or are you referring to the tenants?

Adezoo

TripleH said:

To clarify, my suggestion of going to the house was to knock on the door to see if anyone was living there.

As much it would be to listen to what the occupants have to say. To get their names and understand the position they are in.

It may be that they are moving out but are just awaiting the new owner to hand over keys.

I would not recommend going in in an aggressive manner but more as a 'what is going on as your former landlord has told me nothing', friendly manner, almost to find out facts so that when you go to a solicitor, you are better prepared.

It might not be the correct procedure, but going and knocking on the door of a house you bought as vacant possession does not sound incorrect as long as you only ask questions. But again this is just my thought on the situation.

Yes I agree. I will let my friend know and maybe go in with them to find out. Don’t think anyone need to be aggressive although I believe they were told to leave. Being evicted isn’t something people like and do gently. 

Adezoo

babyblade41 said:

sorry, after reading everything in this thread and OP's other posts I don't buy any of it 

That’s your business to be honest ☺️ You didn’t add anything useful so you can get back your business 

Adezoo

Thanks to anyone who has taken their time to respond. It’s not an easy situation but hopefully it will get sorted soon. I’ll speak and refer the information on here to my friend and will be able to provide the outcome. Hopefully everything goes well ☺️ 

user1977

Adezoo said:

lisyloo said:

Adezoo said:

sevenhills said:

Ath_Wat said:

No, but I would buy a house without the keys.  The keys are irrelevant.  Keys can be lost or broken. There could be 20 people wandering round with sets of keys.

Which is why I said the OP is not telling us everything. That is because he is posting about a friend's situation.

Rest your case, tell me what I didn’t say? 

There are some very pertinent questions still not answered

. have your friends notified the tenants of the sale?
. are they aware they have legal responsibilities some of which are life and death (I’m referring to carbon monoxide). This is not their fault but they cannot continue to hope that someone else will sort this situation out for them.
. have they checked whether they have legal insurance cover - 10 mins job which could be incredibly valuable. That is something that could be done right now.
. do they know for a fact that the tenants won’t move and that a lengthy eviction process is inevitable? Have they checked this independently of the seller?

I think there were other questions as well.

If you get a mortgage you need to get insurance, or are you referring to the tenants?

The question was whether your friend has insurance cover which would include legal advice about this sort of dispute, rather than them having to pay for it.

Adezoo

user1977 said:

Adezoo said:

lisyloo said:

Adezoo said:

sevenhills said:

Ath_Wat said:

No, but I would buy a house without the keys.  The keys are irrelevant.  Keys can be lost or broken. There could be 20 people wandering round with sets of keys.

Which is why I said the OP is not telling us everything. That is because he is posting about a friend's situation.

Rest your case, tell me what I didn’t say? 

There are some very pertinent questions still not answered

. have your friends notified the tenants of the sale?
. are they aware they have legal responsibilities some of which are life and death (I’m referring to carbon monoxide). This is not their fault but they cannot continue to hope that someone else will sort this situation out for them.
. have they checked whether they have legal insurance cover - 10 mins job which could be incredibly valuable. That is something that could be done right now.
. do they know for a fact that the tenants won’t move and that a lengthy eviction process is inevitable? Have they checked this independently of the seller?

I think there were other questions as well.

If you get a mortgage you need to get insurance, or are you referring to the tenants?

The question was whether your friend has insurance cover which would include legal advice about this sort of dispute, rather than them having to pay for it.

They have house insurance, I’ll ask if they have legal advice as an add on. They told me they’ve been advised to get another solicitor as of now to sort the issue. 

Bendy_House

If they have Legal Protection included in their insurance - and everybody should (as well as checking that it covers both defending and taking action) - then they might be willing to advise on this, and tell them what they need to do.

Very unlikely they will actually ACT on this for them, as it was an ongoing situation when the cover was taken out. But certainly worth asking.

Debbie9009

It’s possible that if your friend contacts their insurance company they could cancel the policy as your friend has understandably most likely purchased insurance based on them living in the property.  

Your friend should check this and if they won’t insure the property they will need to look for an insurance company that will provide cover, this could mean that because the problem started before the policy the new company may not provide any legal assistance. 

It’s important they check this as they don’t want to find themselves without cover.