Landlords, would you consider this if your tenants asked?

Your LL sounds a bit dodgy TBH. Over my renting years 3 different LLs wanted to sell properties we lived in - each time we were told this was the case before it when to market and twice were given ‘first refusal’ before it was listed.

We weren’t in a position to buy so had to decline but were given several months notice to move out and were involved in any permissions for photos/viewings.

Ask about buying for sure, but as others say - don’t offer more rent. I’d also want to diplomatically let them know you’re unhappy with how this has been handled so far.

Do not adjust your rent, that has nothing to do with this. If it's been up for a while without viewings, definitely do not offer asking price. Offer below, and say it's based on completion in 5 months (lower price and no extra rent, that should be doable). A sitting tenant can be a problem for the landlord, check what your notice period is, it is possible that your kandlord could sell faster to you than to anyone else.

Have you verified a mortgage with someone for that value? You should get a mortgage offer agreed in principle to be clear exactly what you can borrow. Be clear on other fees like the survey too.

What kind of landlord doesn't discuss his plans to sell with a tenant of 13 years - that's shocking.

I would tell him you've been made aware the house is on right move due to people coming round asking to look around - then tell him you are interested in buying it and is that something he'd be on board with?

Then you can get into the specifics of price etc.

And definitely get clued up on your rights.

And I would have discussed this with you firstly it’s terrible so many landlords don’t

I would ask abs I hope they agree

I would accept that now but when interests rates suddenly shot up and I was paying just under 50% more if I had not made an agreement with the mortgage company I would not have been in a position to accept this

it very much depends on their circumstances

I'm a 'nice' landlord (only one tiny flat which is for my eventual retirement as I live in tied accommodation; never increase the rent; repairs etc done speedily and without complaint) - your landlord is not!

I would not dream of starting the sales process without talking to my tenants, and I (or any workmen needed) would never, ever enter the property without the tenants' permission.

So, my first thought is to start to get assertive - if he's about to sell from under you, what is there to lose?

However, if you think keeping him on-side is worth it, by all means make him an offer: if I was your landlord I would definitely consider it.

@DesperateTenant I am curgently doing exactly this with my tenant; she has managed to get a mortgage with a lower deposit so it’s hopefully about to move forward.
Good luck!

Well no they don't have this choice because they can't just tip the OP out and change her for a more amenable tenant! The OP needs to stay put as long as she can whether she buys this place or not. If she can't buy this place she needs to stay as long as she can to find somewhere else to rent or buy.

I would be delighted if my tenant wanted to buy our rental. However, I wouldn’t understand all this waiting 6 months weirdness and would think she was playing for time, whereas if she outright came to us with an offer of “on X date, I would be able to afford to buy this flat from you for Y”, she would be my top choice, even if the offer was a little under asking or we needed a little more time, she’s been a reliable tenant, I know she loves the place and knows all it’s quirks and that saves me hassle. To be honest, I would give her first refusal and offer her an off market sale to save us both the fees!

The only exception to this would be if we were under some kind of financial pressure and were being pushed by the bank on value/time or something, which I hope is unlikely!!!

Offer what you can afford now and negotiate hard.

You can make life very difficult for your landlord if you want to. It would take him months to evict you if you don't leave voluntarily and that would cost him money. Selling to another landlord will limit his market so this is a good negotiation point.

Look closely at that advert. Have you bought things or improved things? My neighbour got a good reduction on buying the house they were renting when they pointed out to the landlord that if he evicted them they would be removing the curtains, wood flooring, the decking, the shed etc all of which were on the sale advert but were purchased by them.

Be ready to play hard ball

I bought the house I was renting. It wasn’t on the market, I just wrote to the landlord and asked if he wanted to sell, and he did.

I would write to him and say you’ve seen it’s on the market, you’d like to offer the asking price, but would need a few months to raise the deposit. Don’t go in heavy handed at this stage about your rights, how long it could take to evict you, the immorality of him taking photos without your consent etc just yet. I’d go in all nice and friendly at this stage, and then see what happens.

There is no such thing as a sitting tenant. However your landlord can't complete on a sale until you've moved out. Talk to Shelter, they may be able to give you some very useful information.
A friend of mine is in a similar situation and yesterday we worked out that if she ignores the section 21 notice to move out, the landlord will be looking at a delay of at least 5 months to go through the process of getting her evicted.
We also worked out that he's never had an EPC done on the property (up to £5k fine) and he hasn't lodged the deposit in a scheme. That might prevent him issuing a section 21 until he has in some circumstances. It does mean that she can easily take him to court and could be awarded up to 3x the deposit in compensation.
If the property is in need of repair you could get quotes for the cost of that.
Plus, you haven't become aware of the sale via an agent so your landlord might be able to avoid their fees.

So if you get your facts straight, you may be in a very strong position to propose buying the property in 6 months time, with a suitable discount on the asking price.

I’m a landlord and would never dream of treating a tenant like this and would be over the moon if the tenant offered to buy the house. I wouldn’t offer any increased rent. 6 months isn’t that long in the context of a house sale.

Do you rent directly or via agent?
You have a right to peaceful occupation of your home.
Equally they have a choice of a tenant who will help to sell the house or a tenant who will not. I have viewed houses with resentful tenants, no way would I have bought one.

If you can find a way to round up the rest of the deposit, you are a chain free buyer and in quite a strong position.

If you’ve been renting for 13 years it possibly didn’t occur to the landlord that you would want to buy. I would choose your battles for now and make an approach to buy it. But it is probably also worth talking to shelter to clarify your rights as a tenant too.

We bought after long term renting,in fact we managed to reduce the asking price . Ask!

Your landlord is being extremely sneaky...

He should have told you that the house was going to be put on sale you had enough time to find alternative accommodation.

It sounds like he wants to keep receiving rent until the last minute.

Definitely offer to buy the place.

Also he might find that it is more difficult to sell a house that is still tenanted and that the market isn't great in many places, which might work to your advantage if you offer to buy.

Also remember that this is still your home as you haven't even been given notice and you don't have to allow viewings.

If you decide to buy still get a full structural survey done. If the report comes back with surveyors concerns then you have a bargaining tool. If he's not maintained the basics like the windows then goodness knows what else is wrong.

I’m not a LL so have no advice, just wanted to say I really hope yours does wait for you to have the deposit together, wish you all the luck and a very happy home

I'd ring the estate agents first thing and ask if they know that there's a sitting tenant who has not been informed about the potential sale, or given notice, and that the photos were taken without your knowledge and consent. It would be interesting to see what they have been told.

Absolutely thus.

Landlord has shown a complete disregard of your rights by entering your home and is perhaps an Indication if what little respect they have for you. Ask them what the hell they are playing at invading your privacy like this. I would not be allowing any viewings until your contract ends. Landlords like this deserve difficult tenants.

If he did want to sell to you, to avoid estate agent fees he'd have to wait a fair amount of time now anyway because they've advertised it. So you can agree privately to buy in a few months but he'd have to uninstruct the agents - and they'll have a clause saying they can get a fee for any sale inside their agreed period.

But do ask!

I wouldn’t offer more rent but I would definitely ask. Given the poor condition of the home and the landlord’s shadiness, it probably is overpriced. What estate agent would take on a listing they haven’t seen or inspected the inside of? I would contact the estate agent and get as much background info as possible.

I'm sure the landlord would be more than happy to do a private sale with you. LL will save all the estate agent fees and have a completely hassle free sale. I'd ask if they'd sell it to you but wouldn't offer an increase in rent. The LL will be paid rent right up until the day you own the property if they sell to you. It would be a seamless sale!