Relocating to Wiltshire from Vancouver but existing tenant refuses to move out.

[Canadian1]

Good afternoon everyone, we need your help. My wife and I are moving to Wiltshire from Vancouver and have found a perfect home to rent in Tisbury. Unfortunately at the last minute the existing tenant has refused to move out. We don't know how long this will take to sort out but we require temporary accommodation for us and our two mature border terriers by June 1 latest for at the most up to three months. This will allow us time to find another home to lease or buy if the present situation does not end in our favour. We are both in our mid 50s and semi retired. Anyone interested could speak with our estate agent who could explain our predicament. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. This is a difficult time of year to find a holiday let for that length of time. Kind regards, Graham and Anne

Have a look on spareroom.com as you may find shorter tenancies and house shares.

Wouldn't your existing agent - or another one if they are not able - be able to find you some accommodation. Just curious as to why you are on MN seeking accommodation.

Unfortunately the existing tenants could delay moving out for anything up to 6 months or more, depending on how adept they are at playing the system, and how incompetent the letting agents / landlord have been.

Assuming the current tenants have been given a Section 21 eviction notice, that will have to expire (min 2 months from serving) then the landlord will have to apply to the courts and wait for a court date. If the landlord / agent has made a mistake (eg incorrectly issued S21, no gas safety certificate, deposit not properly protected) then the process starts again from scratch. Assuming the court hearing goes in the landlord's favour, they will then have to find court appointed bailiffs and get them to physically evict the tenant (it can take several weeks to get these bailiffs). The landlord will then need to clean and repair the property as required.

If I'm honest, I'd consider giving up on this property and looking elsewhere.

If you're really determined to get this property, consider

• delaying your move to Wiltshire
• looking on spareroom.co.uk (though the dogs will make this tricky)
• asking your estate agents if they have any short term properties available
• AirBnB (even if you have to move midway through your stay)
• somewhere like a Haven holiday park caravan

I should think the agent is responsible for helping you to find another place, especially as you must have paid a deposit and rent up front etc.

Renting with pets can be tricky but you could offer an extra deposit amount to cover potential damage. Worth asking.

Alternatively, do you have friends in Canada who could look after the dogs until you're settled? It might only be very short term, but at least you could find somewhere to stay quickly and easily without them, then spend some time searching for a pet friendly home.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond. Our estate agent is being vague but I'm sure will find us another home to rent if this situation does not work out. My wife and I wanted to give both the landlord and tenant 3 months to come to a mutually agreeable solution. Renting with two dogs has proven to be a challenge especially within or near the commuter belt. Notice was given to the tenant this week.

Notice was given to the tenant this week? But at the last minute they refused to move out? That doesn't make sense

Sorry, his lease has ended and he was to move out by March 15th but said he couldn't find another suitable rental and has refused to leave. The landlord instructed their solicitor to give the tenant notice once again.

Your right, the pets are the issue and this house and landlord are perfect for us plus my family is just east up the A30. The landlord has been wonderful so far and we feel so sorry for her. The tenant is not maintaining the home or garden it's such a mess, it must be driving the neighbours crazy but he won't leave.

When leases end (by which I presume you mean the fixed term of the tenancy) there is no presumption that the tenant will move out. The tenancy actually becomes periodic ie a monthly rolling tenancy.

If the tenant decides to drag this out as long as possible, this simply will not be sorted within 3 months - I can guarantee that the tenant will still be there in 3 months (and it will be entirely legal, though against the landlord's wishes)

This explains it quite well forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67759913&postcount=4

Just to check, have you actually seen this property in person? There are a lot of rental scams involving theft of deposits www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/rental-fraud

Have a look on Airbnb.