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Property/DIY

Landlord selling house- how do we stand?

18 replies

pressingbuttons · 28/01/2013 22:50

Just found out our landlord is going to sell the house, we have 6 weeks left until our 6month tenancy expires. Does that mean we have to be out in 6 weeks? We have not received any formal notice, anyone had any experience of this? We are gutted as kids were getting settled, as were we..... :-( any thoughts, legal bods out there that can shed some light?

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STOPtheworldimgettingoff · 28/01/2013 23:36

Speak to Citizens Advice to see where you stand with the matter .
Don't hold me to this but from what I can remember he can't serve you notice to leave until your Tenancy has ended , If you are on good terms with him ask for a good reference & also see if he will let you have access to your bond to enable you to find somewhere sooner rather than later , hope this is of some use to you

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wendybird77 · 29/01/2013 07:44

He has to give you formal notice - 2 months from the date your rent comes out (so two FULL months). Sorry you have to move again - such a pain!

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MrsBucketxx · 29/01/2013 07:47

Wendy they have till the end of the tenancy, as they have not signed to renew the font need to give notice as you said,

This only applies within a tenancy, naybe you coukd talk to your landlord and stay whike he tries yo sell. It will give you a bit more time.

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Chopstheduck · 29/01/2013 08:12

Speak to your landlord. He might even be selling it as an ongoing rental property. I once rented a house that was sold, and we stayed on. Otherwise you will need to be served proper notice.

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ILikeBirds · 29/01/2013 09:02

The 6 month tenancy will automatically become a rolling contract if nothing new has been signed. It does not end at 6 months unless a correct section 21 has been issued, giving 2 months notice. Sometimes this is issued at the beginning of the tenancy so check your paperwork.

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Toughasoldboots · 29/01/2013 09:12

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Toughasoldboots · 29/01/2013 09:14

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TripleRock · 29/01/2013 09:15

The incoming buyer may be willing to keep you on

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MrsBucketxx · 29/01/2013 09:16

I have never given notice though,

Could be sold with you as a tenant, as business.

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Toughasoldboots · 29/01/2013 09:17

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MrsBucketxx · 29/01/2013 09:36

Sorry you misunderstood me, they have always moved on and given me notice not the otherway round.

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Toughasoldboots · 29/01/2013 09:43

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MoreBeta · 29/01/2013 09:53

I am a tenant, the landlord has to give you two months formal notice, regardless of it being a 6 month contract. As others say, it just becomes a rolling contract automatically and that carries on indefinitely until two months notice is given.

If he has not given you two months notice then you do not have to move out. Incidentally, you do not have to agree to allow visitors to look round the property either.

I once lived in a house that was sold to an investor while were in the middle of the tenancy. We got a letter to inform us but the tenancy was unaffected.

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specialsubject · 29/01/2013 10:22

no, you do not have to agree to have people look round - but doing that will be a good way to get you your formal notice as the landlord cannot sell the place if buyers cannot view it. A good way round this is to agree a viewing window (e.g. 2 hours on a Thursday evening) but always with notice.

you aren't leaving in six weeks. You aren't leaving until the expiry of a formal notice period, and that hasn't even started yet.

here's an idea - why not ask the landlord what his plans are?

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MousyMouse · 29/01/2013 10:26

please check also your rental contract, sometimes landlord (especially via agencies) issue the section 21 at the beginning of the contract together with the rental contract. if that is the case you will have to move.

agree with the others, you don't have to let anyone into your home at all if you don't want to. others can only gain access in an emergency (as in blue lights), viewings and inspections are not an emergency.

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Notyetthere · 29/01/2013 18:53

I'm in a flat that the landlord started marketing at the end of our contract in oct 2012. we are on a rolling tenancy now where we only give 1 months notice and they give us 2. They approached us first to see if we were interested in buying but we plan to buying somewhere else at end of this year so we declined. However, we are more flexible in terms of viewings and so far all viewers have been in and out 5- 10mins so it's never long enough to infringe on our ' enjoyment of our home'.

Having looked into the local market I know that our flat is over priced, needs a lot work thus it will take a while to sell giving us enough (hopefully) time to save a deposit for our own place before they serve us notice. In your position, are the properties in a sought after location? Are they selling fast? Has your landlord priced competitively? If they are I would get ready to move just in case the s21 is served a lot sooner.

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pressingbuttons · 30/01/2013 20:16

Thanks so much for all your replies and ideas. Ended up ringing up 'Shelter' who were great- can't recommend them enough - for those not aware; this is a charity set up to protect and advise on accommodation issues and homelessness etc. So you're all absolutely right; 2 months formal notice so we can stop panicking and take a breath and time to plan and look around. No one's leaving this cul de sac in 6 weeks!! :-) well unless we win lottery...

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DontmindifIdo · 30/01/2013 20:23

we had this happen, we spoke to the letting agent (who was the same firm as the estate agent selling it) they say that as our contract said we had to be given 2 months notice, they were making it clear to perspective buyers that we'd be only given notice once they had got a firm offer so they were viewing it with the understanding they had to wait. however, in the end the couple who bought it were buying it as a buy to let. They'd viewed it on short notice so knew we'd not had chance to do a big tidy up, and they said they could see we were taking good care of the place, so we rented from them for another year.

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