To not move out of rented house until I'm ready?

[longtermsinglemummy]

I have rented my current home for 5 years. I've looked after it as if it were my own and we've been really happy here. The landlord lives abroad.

In April I had a phone call from the letting agents asking for the property to be valued as the landlord was looking into selling it (huge shock as you can imagine). To cut a long story short he did decide to sell the property and we were given 2 months notice on 21st May, which was then extended by another 2 months expiring on September 22nd as it was still unsold.

In this period I have complied with their wishes. I have had people view the property (which was galling as it feels like our home), and then a mortgage valuation and survey once the house was sold (they only told us it was sold at the end of July). Since then we have looked at so many houses both online and in person but there were none that we really liked or that were suitable for us. I also have legacy credit issues which have stood in our way.

I have finally found a house that we like, and they will have us

But am I being unreasonable in saying we are not able to move out by the 22nd? This date would put so much pressure on me as I couldn't get my head around moving until we had somewhere to move to, so still have loads to do. There is no chain, the buyers aren't selling their house and my landlord is abroad and has a home there. I also have to get my daughter back to university which wipes out one weekend. My ideal scenario would be to vacate the house on Monday October 10th, 2.5 weeks after my notice runs out.

I just feel that I have been a really good tenant over the years, I have been compliant during this horrible shitty period when I could have been obstructive had I chosen to be. The letting agents are saying it has to be Sept 22nd and it's not possible to go past this date, contracts have been drawn up etc.

Surely another 2.5 weeks couldn't be that much of an issue?

Possession orders with a money judgment

You can use the accelerated possession service if your tenants have not left by the date specified in your Section 21 notice and you’re not claiming rent arrears.

A judge can add a money judgment to any of the possession orders. This means your tenants owe a specific amount of money, usually made up of:

their rent arrears
court fees
your legal costs

The money judgment will apply if they don’t pay the amount set out in the suspended possession order that’s linked to the judgment. If they don’t pay, you can ask the court to carry out the instructions in the order and the judgment

The money judgment won’t apply if your tenants pay their arrears and the amount set out in a suspended possession order

Gov.UK

There LL can initiate an accelerated possession order process and then can initiate a claim for rent arrears, legal fees and costs.

Not hysterical clap trap. Suggest you gen up PDQ or as pp said could be expensive.

I would imagine that if the sale falls through your LL will be pissed off so will pursue a claim rather than just thinking 'oh it's only 2 weeks'.

There's some really irresponsible advice on this thread. The OP is a long term renter, she needs to protect her references and credit rating from further damage. Don't risk it just for the sake of 2 weeks. Not worth the long term stress.

Am I really the first person to suggest this has to be a wind-up/reverse? I can't believe any adult could be this selfish and, to be blunt, obtuse. This kind of inability to understand personal obligations, refusal to acknowledge other people's perspectives, and willful ignorance of moral and legal consequences is typical of a young child or preteen. For an adult to behave this way is disgraceful.

Why would you want to make things so hard for someone else. From what you say the landlord has treated you ok and if they are trying to sell why deliberately make things hard for them. How would you feel if you turn up to your new home and there's a tenant refusing to move out. Landlords aren't monsters and I can't believe some people are so selfish about these things. Yes leaving a long standing home is hard but move on and be excited about your new home?

The op has said she is going on time.

bambam s quote from gov.uk is true - there were some bleaters on another thread who didnt believe that tenants could be liable for costs. Although the solicitor fee is limited to £70 when it will be £600 or more. Court fees have gone up 60% in two years btw.

But really the situation should not have arisen. Unless a property is to be marketed only to another landlord, the only realistic way is not to market until it is vacant. This obviously means a time with no rent but that is how it is. A section 21 is a notice of legal action, not a compulsory possession order. That takes months more. Tenants that dont leave have not done anything illegal.

The op has said she is going on time

Actually OP's last post said "We'll be gone before they even get to court to apply for an eviction order. That takes 6 weeks"

Which could be taken a number of ways ...

The sale won't fall through, the buyers are really keen to have it
As yet I haven't read the whole thread but I don't think you have any right to decide whether or not the sale will fall through or not or how keen the buyers are.

If the LL is insisting that you move out on 22nd September then really that is what you should do, especially as you have already had the notice period extended by 2 months already.

I don't wish to sound a bit harsh by saying this but I think that you are acting as if the LL is being unreasonable when from what I have read here it seems to me that it is your attitude that is unreasonable.

Legally, the op is perfectly within her rights to stay until the landlord gets a court order, and would have to go do if she were going into social housing where you are treated as making yourself voluntarily homeless if you leave beforehand.

Really the op's landlord has been bloody lucky that he doesn't have to go the court route with some pointless hope at the end of getting £10 per week from the op to cover his upfront expenses and loss of his buyer.

Shocked that OP thinks it's fine to my move out 2.5wks later. YABVVU and very selfish just because you want more time to pack. Sound like you have no experience of buying and the big big big impact this could have on the buyers but suppose you don't care about that?! You still have enough time till 22nd sept to pack and move out, please do the right thing and move out by then. You came on here for advice and majority posters have said YABU.

You came on here for advice and majority posters have said YABU.

Which the op has accepted and is moving out on time...

Technically you don't have to leave on the 22nd you can stay until they get a court order to move you out and that would take weeks
Whilst that is strictly true, I find it disgusting that just because they wanted an extra 2.5 weeks to move house. I cannot believe that people are so entitled that they would possibly cause someone the grief of a house sale falling through just because it wasn't totally convenient for a tenant to move out after being given the requisite notice and having it extended.

ButterfliesRfree
To use your analogy, if I hire a car, should I let the next potential hirers try it out while I am hiring it?
No- why are tenants expected to pay full rent and have people traipsing through their home for no benefit to them at all?

It is their house for the time that they are paying rent. It is their private space, they are not entitled to less probably just because they are renting.

Or call the agent and negotiate. Can they pay for removals and a packer to assist you on your way? As you would hate the sale to go through due to only just having found somewhere to live?
I cannot believe that anybody is that entitled that they think that this is a solution after being given adequate notice to leave the house.

Why on Earth should the LL pay for the tenant's removal and packing costs?

Are posters seriously suggesting that a district judge in the small claims court will award the price of the house to the landlord if the sale falls through because a tenant didn't move out by the S21 date?

When my tenants were occupying a house that I needed to sell (as my fourth landlord in a row sold up after a year long tenancy). I gave them reduced rent and I did pay towards their moving costs.

I think that I was a pretty good landlord because I knew exactly what it was like to rent.

Blurton It's renters like you who make me sick give everyone else a bad name. Your selfishness defies belief.

when you pay rent for a property it is your home until the lease expires. And her lease has expired, so she needs to get out.

The OP hasn't "paid his mortgage" for the last five years. For all we know, he doesn't even have a mortgage and might own outright. She has paid the market rate for a place to live. If she doesn't like it, she could always buy her own fucking place!

As a landlord I can tell you are really mucking things up!

I wouldn't advise you to stay on, as you have found somewhere else and have plenty of time to pack up, but I amshock at the aggression and vitriol shown to you and the attitudes to all private renters on this thread. I am SO glad I am in social housing now. I rented privately for 18 years and I was always the one to give notice, so I guess I was lucky there. In my last private rental, the house was actually in receivership, but I think they were thinking of selling, as they sent 2 different agents around to "appraise the property". That was the push for me to start bidding on social housing, and I was allocated one in days

Completely agree, some right nasty people on this thread.

kingofnightvision - I don't think it's a wind up or reverse - I think the op has genuinely been putting her head in the sand about the fact she has to move, things happening in September often seem to creep up on you if you think it's something happening "in Autumn" - and don't think about it until after the kids go back to school.

The op has found somewhere to move to, but only just ready to think about the practicalities of packing up her house, and a week isn't enough time, so just wants more time. Telling her she's had 4 months notice isn't going to work as she's waited until it's just over a week away to think about it as a real thing that's going to happen.

If I had to be out of a rented place by next Thursday, I'd aim to move this weekend,would have wanted most stuff packed up last weekend, but it sounds a bit like the op has just realised she's actually moving, and just doesn't see that it's possible in the time frame she's got. (Even later comments suggest she sees her deadline as not Thursday 22nd, but the Monday 26th they are exchanging contracts, aiming to be out that weekend, not this!)

I'm a planner, but I know a lot of people like the op who just leave stuff until the last minute then flap.

some right nasty people on this thread.

Yes; namely, those who are advising the OP to stay put and be selfish.

Clam - her lease hasn't expired. The landlord has given notice that he intends to reclaim the property. The tenancy technically only comes to an end when the court orders the tenant to leave.

The landlord is lucky that he won't have to get a possession order as the op is going to move out.

I was a landlord btw. It just irritates me when landlords don't seem to know what their legal responsibilities and obligations are. It's not entirely surprising given how appalling many letting agents are, but landlords really should try to understand the basics before they start.

If she doesn't like it, she could always buy her own fucking place"

Charming and a good example of the aggression on this thread.

Don't you think OP would buy her own place if that were an option? Millions of people will never be able to buy through no fault of our own.

I have to laugh at you being all self-righteous about what a good, compliant, tenant you were "during this horrible shitty period when I could have been obstructive had I chosen to be." Yes you could have refused to allow viewers/estate agents/mortgage assessors in - but then your landlord would have been fully entitled to say "Right fair enough, here's your notice then, get out in 4 weeks and I'll sell it empty and save myself the bother."

By being 'compliant' you've benefitted just as much as your LL has by getting an extra 3-4 months to find somewhere new!

I appreciate it must be horrible to have to leave somewhere you're happy and go through all the stress of moving but just as there are advantages to renting rather than buying there are also disadvantages, and this, sadly, is one. Presumable the LL never said you had a home for life, nobody tricked you into anything - having to move was always going to be an option so now it's happening you have to get on with it, not push the annoyance and distress on to everyone else involved.

Do you really want people banging on your door, sending bailiffs and nasty letters, for the sake of two weeks?

If she doesn't like it, she could always buy her own fucking place

Well aint you a fucking peach?

The landlord is lucky that he won't have to get a possession order as the op is going to move out
There is no good reason why the OP cannot move out at the end of the notice period.

I would feel differently if she had nowhere else to go or was staying put so that the local authority would not class her as intentionally homeless but in this instance this is not the case.