Surely I’m not expected legally to have this tenant in my property forevermore??

If a landlord wishes to increase the rent they certainly won't be evicting the current tenants in order to do so. Why would they? They'll simply increase the rent.

They don't. Most of them are dire and don't have a clue.

The OP literally said it's because she's selling up. And my comment literally stated that I did not condone the inactions of the landlord.

Militancy? You mean clarity of thought and social conscience.

The person who should rightfully own a property is the person who does the work which earns the money which pays for the property. The tenant.

Anyone who interferes in that process is a leech, a vampire, a profiteering ghoul who exploits and steals what should not be theirs.

There should be zero profit available in buying or letting residential property.

Imagine swanning around as a landlord thinking it is right that you own a property which others have worked their arses to pay for.

Delusional. Devoid of intellect or ethics. A pestilence in our society.

surely what you are proposing would just create monopolies which would drive prices up and standards down? And also create a depressing homogeneity in the housing market ,

Theres far too much militancy on this thread.

As I understand it there’s no requirement to have Gas Safety Cert etc to use any section 8 grounds currently.

Maybe this will change, given that the invalidation of S21s has been a pretty significant incentive for LLs to make sure they are compliant (though not in all cases, as OP clearly demonstrates).

I suppose mandatory registration on the database could provide an enforcement tool that means the indirect threat of invalidating possession claims is no longer needed?

I don’t have a hygiene certificate to verify I am safe to cook dinner for my own family but if I’d need one if I was selling food to the public. Same difference.

Yes, we did, however, with a house full of adults and children (and no pets in sight at the time) I did not notice the state of the carpets. We were aware it was tenanted and were told that they would be moving out in early May- in the end we were not able to complete until late July.

We did contact the solicitor to notify them about the missing fixtures and fittings but the landlord didn't respond to any emails from them and our only option would have been to take him to court, which was not what we needed when we'd just bought our first house.

Most of the damage was done when they moved out, so after we'd already agreed to the purchase- we weren't aware that the relationship between tenant and Landlord was so acrimonious at this point that they would deliberately trash the place before leaving.

We also weren't aware that the tenants were heavily in debt and continued to use our address for taking out more credit after leaving!

The issue any LL in this situation faces is they have broken law, failure to have a Gas safety check down yearly is a £6k fine and potentially prison.

Any tenant faced with court action, my decide to report and even if they didn't, the LLs lack of certification will be bought up.

I'd be finding them somewhere live and paying them compensation too.

Have you ever lived in the Property? If so you may be able to use Ground 1.

OP, find a local Estate/Letting Agent and ask them for some advice , they should know the rules inside out and might be able to advise you on how to proceed.

Also, join NRLA for help and advice.

Unfotunately as you have not done things properly, all you can do is get advice on how to get the tenant out

Shame on you for being a bad landlord. I don’t think you deserve any sympathy. You’ve failed in your duties which ensure property is safe and now you’re reaping the consequences. I’m pleased that legislation is now finally kicking dodgy landlords

@AlltheHedgehogsontheWall Of course, no sympathy was expressed for the people who had to fix the damage and replace the fixtures and fittings, tear up all the carpets due to being ruined by pet waste, deal with the bailiffs for the previous tenants due to the unpaid debts (he clearly hadn't bothered to run credit checks before letting) and undo the bizarre "decorating" and dodgy that had been done. AKA us

DId you and your surveyor not see the house before buying and did your solicitor not tell you it was tenanted and put appropriate clauses in the contract regarding state of the property on handover?

Doesn't seem that strange to me - I expect restaurants I eat in to have all the relevant foods safety certificates but I don't have these in my own kitchen.

"Just an oversight" isn't really an excuse when it comes to the failure to comply with basic legal requirements.

I'm afraid rogue landlords really aren't going to get a lot of sympathy when it is their own cavalier attitude towards the law that has rendered them unable to use the law against their tenants.

Live and learn.

How are they going to move into the property themselves??

Not sure that circumvent the need for the checks.

That still up for debate

Just leave them be you’ve spectacularly fucked up. They are paying their rent. Be grateful for small mercies and think of Plan B.
There is always a way round it to a Plan B remortgage it up to the eyeballs
And then if it does turn to custard fundamentally, it’s the Bank’s problem not yours

What you have done is illegal.

You deserve every consequence that comes your way.

@jasflowers And allowing owners/landlords to sit on empty estate for decades as they are only speculating on the land asset. There are entire blocks in London which fit that category but its an issue on a smaller scale across the country.

Can you offer them money or move into the property yourself?

That might be what they want. Have you spoken to them about it?

You made a mistake. I’m amazed it’s only coming up now.

When the new Renters Rights Act comes into force, likely half way through next year, you'll be able to give them notice if you want to sell your property. You'll need to wait until then.

Let’s hope that the OPs tenant isn’t a friend of the people who rented the house next door to me and decided to bypass their electricity meter. Their meter was in the cellar, on the side wall of MY cellar, next to the gas inlet pipes. If their home made utility savings scheme had gone tits up then their house, my house and lord knows how many other houses would have been damaged/ destroyed. Shock of my life when the Electricity safety people knocked on my door one Saturday morning and explained that they would like to check that my supply hadn’t been compromised.

Well you should, at a minimum, have annual boiler checks. I am surprised you dont. You should get that in place asap as yes, you are putting your lives at risk. You should also have a carbon monoxide alarm. It is very easy to find out your responsibility as a landlord. 'not thinking of it' is no excuse.

I don't think the taxation and regulatory changes to LLs, have made much difference to the housing crisis.

Governments not building council housing, reliance on Housing Associations but not funding them properly, allowing in millions of people from students to workers, but with no housing plan for them & many houses that have been built have, in the main, been far too expensive, even affordable ones aren't at all.

All of this has led to where we are now.