Keys not given at time of completion?

Adezoo

Bendy_House said:

Adezoo, what actually happened on the day of completion?

I mean, I presume the cash was transferred, the solicitor or EA got in touch with your friend and said 'Completed! It's yours! Congrats!"?

And then, what? Your friend asked for the keys, but was told what? The keys aren't ready?! There's still someone in the house?!! If so, WHO told your friend this news?

And, what did your friend do or say, to either the EA or solicitor, or both? Surely it's "If it isn't vacant, then the vendor is in breach of the conditions. What do I do?"

Who on earth advised them to give them another week or so to get rid of the tenants? Why didn't the solicitor, at least, go "Woah! It ain't vacant?! Let me get in touch with the vendor's solicitor and find out what the hell is going on!"?

Who is it who suggested that giving them weeks to sort this was 'ok'?

Didn't your friend's solicitor point out the huge pitfalls, with these folk being tenants?

The completion date got delayed because the seller couldn’t confirm the tenants had left. Usually after exchange you set a completion date, and if one of the parties can’t complete on time, they get sent a reminder to complete by the solicitor. That covers the other party usually as it’s after exchange. Well, the seller confirmed they have left and went through completion, just for them to be strung along with the keys. 

sevenhills

user1977 said:

Yes, but the house isn't empty. That's the problem, not whether or not the buyer happens to have a set of keys.

So what did the solicitor say when the documents were signed, there are no keys, but sign and we will get the locksmith round?
The estate agent has the keys?
If you were buying a car, would you hànd over the money without the keys?

Adezoo

user1977 said:

sevenhills said:

user1977 said:

Why would either the old or new landlord want to carry out an illegal eviction?

It is being stated that the contract was signed, money handed over and they believed the house was empty!

Yes, but the house isn't empty. That's the problem, not whether or not the buyer happens to have a set of keys.

Exactly, because they could call a locksmith even without the keys. But since someone is in, they have go through more hoops

user1977

sevenhills said:

user1977 said:

Yes, but the house isn't empty. That's the problem, not whether or not the buyer happens to have a set of keys.

So what did the solicitor say when the documents were signed, there are no keys, but sign and we will get the locksmith round?
The estate agent has the keys?
If you were buying a car, would you hànd over the money without the keys?

When you're buying a house, normally the estate agent has the keys, and they are authorised to release them by a call from the vendor's solicitor to confirm that completion has taken place. As discussed above, it doesn't sound like there was any suggestion prior to completion that that wasn't going to happen.

And once again, passing over the landlord's set of keys wouldn't be much help anyway!

lisyloo

Adezoo - is it an assumption that the tenants won’t leave and there will be a lengthy eviction process? Or has that been independently established by the new landlord?

it seems to me it is now your friends problem to:

1) legally evict the tenants if they won’t leave - they should start the clock ticking ASAP as there’s a delay for court dates but make sure it’s done correctly otherwise it may fail.
2) pursue the sellers for their costs including their own alternative accommodation and the eviction.
3) consider whether any malpractice has taken place from solicitor or estate agent. It appears not as it appears they sought the usual assurances and were lied to so from what we know it appears the sellers are at fault.

Does the friend have legal insurance on their home insurance?

I’d be looking into that urgently as there may be 6 figures worth of legal help available there. It should take them about 10 mins to check so they should be doing this ASAP if they haven’t already.

i don’t know - but to the floor - is there any route via the bank for a fraudulent transfer as this is essentially a con.
i suspect not but worth asking the question.

loubel

Adezoo said:

The completion date got delayed because the seller couldn’t confirm the tenants had left. Usually after exchange you set a completion date, and if one of the parties can’t complete on time, they get sent a reminder to complete by the solicitor. That covers the other party usually as it’s after exchange. Well, the seller confirmed they have left and went through completion, just for them to be strung along with the keys. 

But can you answer Bendy_House's very pertinent questions? The issue isn't that the keys weren't handed over, the issue is that there are tenants. When and how was this discovered and what was done about it in the immediate aftermath? Surely your friends haven't been sitting back all this time waiting for the keys. What has actually been done so far to resolve the issue?

user1977

lisyloo said:

i don’t know - but to the floor - is there any route via the bank for a fraudulent transfer 

No, the transfer was done voluntarily and properly between the solicitors. Banks don't take on the risk of there being some sort of other fraud connected to a payment. And I don't think we've got enough evidence for any variety of "fraud" anyway.

Ath_Wat

sevenhills said:

user1977 said:

Yes, but the house isn't empty. That's the problem, not whether or not the buyer happens to have a set of keys.

So what did the solicitor say when the documents were signed, there are no keys, but sign and we will get the locksmith round?
The estate agent has the keys?
If you were buying a car, would you hànd over the money without the keys?

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. The price of calling a locksmith is negligible in the course of a house purchase.
Of course, I wouldn't buy a house without vacant possession, keys or no.  If they had been given the keys they couldn't use them.

born_again

lisyloo said:

i don’t know - but to the floor - is there any route via the bank for a fraudulent transfer as this is essentially a con.
i suspect not but worth asking the question.

Mortgage company need to know & should have been informed as soon as this was known. Same with solicitor. They could have stopped the completion & possibly the funds being recalled.

https://www.landlordbuyers.com/blog/post/the-issues-of-selling-a-property-with-tenants-in-situ

4. 3rd paragraph

Selling with vacant possession means that you will have to ensure that the tenancy is terminated and the tenants have moved out before the sale can be completed.

It is worth noting that it can take considerable time to achieve vacant possession, especially if the tenant proves to be reluctant to leave.

Agreeing a fixed completion date before the tenant has actually left the property can create issues if the tenant is still in occupation on the agreed completion date. The buyer will be entitled to delay completion, and might be able to terminate the contract and sue for damages.

HampshireH

OP Your friend needs to formally notify the tenants of the change in ownership.

They need to serve a section 3 notice within 2 months of ownership. Various templates online.

They must do this if they haven't already. It would also be prudent to make sure there are valid certificates on the gas and electric as they are now a landlord they need to perform as one. Complying with their legal requirements before and during the eviction process 

https://www.landlordsguild.com/change-of-property-ownership/ is a good read