Selling a flat with a sitting tenant

MattMattMattUK

MeteredOut said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Albermarle said:

What is the state of your relationship with the tenant ( poor obviously but how poor?)
Could they be 'financially incentivised' to leave ?

I agree with this, £5k to leave and never come back will be cheaper and quicker than eviction. Start the eviction process, go hard at them, threaten them with back rent, plus interest at 8%, plus costs, then give them the option of leaving with a pay off to make things easier. Give them the nice option, if they refuse to play ball then crush them.

Tenant is bankrupt - I'm not sure the threat would encourage them. And even with £5K offer, as a bankrupt, they'll presumably know they might struggle to get another rental, so I can imagine they'll sit tight until forcibly evicted.

The cost of eviction and rent back to bankruptcy can still be recovered, hit them with an attachment to earnings once evicted for all debt that is allowable. They might sit tight, but I would make sure they paid dearly for doing so.

Deligirl5

The tenant is difficult to get in contact with. As a bankrupt they would be unwise to leave voluntarily. When the bankruptcy goes through it will wipe the debt which gives us grounds to evict. They’re paying rent now. We’re advised the tenancy doesn’t allow us to use section 22. Probably have to try eviction but they will almost certainly look for grounds to fight it. We could do with the money and without the anxiety to be honest

saajan_12

Deligirl5 said:

The tenant is difficult to get in contact with. As a bankrupt they would be unwise to leave voluntarily. When the bankruptcy goes through it will wipe the debt which gives us grounds to evict. They’re paying rent now. We’re advised the tenancy doesn’t allow us to use section 22. Probably have to try eviction but they will almost certainly look for grounds to fight it. We could do with the money and without the anxiety to be honest

Taking a step back, what is the actual issue with the tenant, or do you just want to sell? 
- are they current with rent with no arrears?
- is the rent amount in line with the market?
- is the property in reasonable state of repair?

If so, another LL may not have an issue with keeping an income producing tenancy in place. Selling with a tenant in situ restricts your market a little, but not massively. 

dinosaur66

selling with a tenant in situ limits you to a less than 5% off potential buyers

selling with a tenant who is a problem tenant who will not move means you have a zero based potential buyers .

he is anything but your friend

serve the section 21 notice straight away