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Buying a tenanted house.. when will notice to tenant be served?

andrewd28
andrewd28 Posts: 13 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi all,

I am a first time buyer and have finally had an offer accepted on a property I wanted.

The property in question is currently tenanted and the landlord is selling.

They have accepted my offer today and The estate agent has sent me the memorandum of sale.

I need to know, when will the landlord give the current tenant 2 months notice? Or is it up to them?
I understand buying a house usually takes 10-12 weeks, with the house being tenanted, should the landlord give notice now as he’s accepted my offer. Or will they wait until it’s all gone through with surveys completed etc.

Thanks

Andy
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Comments

  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 31,816 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Post First Anniversary
    Who knows what the have your cake and eat it landlord will do. It can take 6 months or more to get a tenant out so don't commit to exchanging contracts until the tenant has gone.
  • RiversTam
    RiversTam Posts: 65 Forumite
    I would want to do the survey and inspections after tenant leaves - you never know what they will leave behind.
    Plus - it can take months for a tenant to leave, so I wouldn't spend any money until they are gone personally.
    The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    Did you want to become a landlord, OP?
  • franklee
    franklee Posts: 3,867 Forumite
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    It is up to the landlord but IMHO good practise says it should have already been served and the tenant left.

    You can help yourself by asking what the landlord has done. You could also familiarise yourself with the eviction process so you know what to expect.

    Also if you manage a viewing with the tenants present be polite and considerate towards them and ask what their plans for moving are. If you are lucky it may be them who have served notice and they may have somewhere to go lined up.

    Also let your solicitor know about the tenants so he can ask the relevant questions.

    You need to gauge when to formalise your mortgage application, you don't want it to run out while waiting for the tenants to leave. Likewise you may not want to pay for survey etc. before they have gone.

    If you don't ask you won't know. I'd take anything the estate agent says with a pinch of salt.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    Totally agree with the above except for the "pinch" part. I'd take my own shovel...

    There are numerous threads on here from tenants whose homes are being sold out from under them. The advice is always the same: Only a tenant or a court can end a tenancy; a landlord can only serve notice and apply for a court order to evict.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    There are huge problems with buying a house that has tenants still in it. Sometimes they appear to be cheap for what they are and that is because the landlord is hoping to sell to another landlord.

    At the moment no one has any idea of what length of tenancy the tenants have. It could be a 12 months one without a break clause in which case the earlies the landlord can give notice to the tenants to leave will be in 12 months time. When they serve the notice to the tenants the tenants don't have to go after the two months they can stay until the landlord gets possession through a court. This can take longer than 6 months.

    When the tenants leave you will need to view the property again before you exchange contracts to make sure that the tenants haven't done a lot of damage to it before they left.

    It is not a good idea to exchange contracts on a property that has tenants in it unless you want to become a landlord in which case you would need a buy to let mortgage. These are difficult to get unless you already own a property which I assume you don't.

    It would be a good idea not to do any surveys or mortgage applications for this house until the tenants have left because this could be in more than 6 months time so it is better to wait until the tenants have left.

    The general advice is not to make an offer on a house that tenants are still living in and to wait until the property is vacant.

    You need to read up on evicting tenants so that you get some idea of how long you are likely to be waiting for them to go.

    This purchase could take a long time so if you are in a hurry you might want to withdraw the offer and look for something else because it is obvious from your OP that you don't understand what is involved with this one.
  • andrewd28
    andrewd28 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Ok thanks very much for all of the replies. I viewed the property while the current tenant was present and he was a really nice guy and really friendly and helpful told me everything what had been done in the house. Currently lives there with his family. The estate agent was 40 mins late so managed to have a good chat with him. I did feel for him as he said he really liked living there.
    I!!!8217;m buying for myself and family.
    I guess it!!!8217;s just a case of how greedy the landlord is and how the tenant reacts to the notice etc.
    Thanks again for the info, really is a tricky one and can see myself pulling out of this if im completely honest.
    Many thanks again, appreciate it.

    Andy
  • andrewd28
    andrewd28 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Tenant has been there 2 years
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    andrewd28 wrote: »
    Tenant has been there 2 years

    That doesn't mean anything it is how long the tenancy agreement that he has got now that is important.
  • Old_Git
    Old_Git Posts: 4,744 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Mortgage-free Glee! Cashback Cashier
    After the tenant has gone ask for another viewing .
    "Do not regret growing older, it's a privilege denied to many"
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