Agent seems to think tenants unlikely to leave. Is this normal?

[Oricolt]

I own a house, which I would like to sell.
I live overseas. An agent manages the rental.
I have spoken to the agent about my plans, and he is immediately talking about legal action to remove the tenants. It all seems very aggressive. I asked if we couldn't just give reasonable notice, etc., and he says yes, but there's no guarantee they'll leave. Is this normal?

Serve notice asap, most tenants will leave, some don’t. Also a chance they might want to buy it, it does happen

Well worth it to get rid of them.

Renter's Reform Act comes into force on 1 May. Get your agent to issue a (valid) section 21 notice now, Theoretically this gives them 2 months to move out, but be prepared to issue a Accelerated Possession Order if they don’t.

None of this likely to be quick or cheap. Because so many landlords are selling up due to the RRA, there is currently a lack of rental property.

Useful government information here:

https://www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/section-21-and-section-8-notices

You are unlikely to be able to sell in under a year as there is a glut of ex-rental properties for sale, so better make alternative plans.

All existing assured shorthold
tenancies will automatically become assured periodic tenancies on 1st May. The new Renters Rights Act applies to all tenancies not just ones starting after 1st May.
Have a look at citizen’s advice website or Shelter for more detailed information.

If they’ve redecorated and have made it the way they want, they could definitely be interested in buying the house.

It seems odd to redecorate and then ask for a monthly tenancy tbh, perhaps they were hoping that you might eventually sell it to them, given that you live abroad. 🤞

It's totally possible the tenants will just leave when asked to, most do. However, private landlords are selling up by the bucketful meaning the number of houses available for rent is smaller but the number of renters stays broadly the same. So it's getting harder and harder to find somewhere to rent. If they can't find another rental then Citizens Advice and the local housing team and Shelter will all advise the tenants to wait it out and stay put until evicted by the courts.

Yes, they still have to pay rent or it will jeopardise there chances of getting further private or social housing. It's awful for you, but that is what they will have been told.

I had tenants who refused to leave after a section 21 notice (I wanted to move back), they also stopped paying the rent. It went to the county court for a possession order, the tenants still wouldn't leave, they left the night before the bailiffs were due to evict them. Overall, it took six months from the court order to eviction. Fortunately, I had rental insurance

Yes, but you need to follow the process. So serve a Section 21 notice. I did this and my tenants left within 6 weeks as they had found somewhere else. If they don't leave you need to carry on following the legal process