Disappointing how quick some people have been to denigrate the renters and show zero understanding if the law or the fact they haven’t broken it.
For the tenants, their contract is with the landlord and the terms of that contract are all that matters. Contracts state after which point notice can be given (4 months) and the law determines the length of notice (currently 6 months due to Covid) and the law states what must happen if tenants don’t actually vacate at the end of the notice period and the process for legal eviction.
People become landlords understanding the law and the restraints they face in terms of removing tenants and how long it might take to do so. They become landlords knowing that the strong advice is to have a vacant property before marketing and that it is impossible to exchange with a tenant in situ, unless to another landlord buyer who is taking on the tenant.
If people become landlords without this knowledge or try to operate without this knowledge they are negligent. It is the law and they must operate within it. If they do t like it, it’s not the industry for them. Like all industries it has rules and regulations. Being a landlord and letting property for money makes the property your business...it is entirely different to having a private house and being able to market it and sell it exactly when you want to, without regard for anyone else.
Given Op knew the property was tenanted, And she was on a tight timeline for stamp duty holiday, I find it extremely odd that she didn’t research notice periods or spot the multitude of mentions in the news about extensions to notice periods, or ask her solicitor some direct questions about this. She says she has only just found out that the S21 has only just been issued....but why has she only just found out? I would say there was negligence on the part of the solicitor (which I seriously wonder about in terms of both the buyer and seller solicitor never raising the issue of tenanted property or lack of S21 - I doubt this can have been the case) but also lack of due diligence on part of Op. her lack of knowledge and information gathering has resulted in her being int his situation, along with the landlord trying to sell to a buyer who has a timeframe that is impossible within the current restrictions.
To now blame the tenants....and that’s the Op, or anyone reading this thread, beggars belief. All the tenants did was view a house and sign a contract and move in. Their responsibility isn’t to check if it is being marketed or to do anything apart from stick to their contract. And they haven’t done anything which goes against it. They weren’t even issued notice until 2 weeks ago. They now have 6 months notice. When asked if they will go sooner, they have said they can’t find somewhere else at the moment.....well it has only been 2 weeks. And it’s possible to ask them if they might go earlier, but their notice period gives them the full 6 months and it is not reasonable to expect them to go before that if they want to use all of it...it is their legal right...and it doesn’t matter if that’s convenient for landlord or Op. Landlord needed to ensure he was able and ready to proceed with a vacant property BEFORE marketing it. The fact he didn’t, isn’t the tenants fault.
I am a Landlord. I am shocked by the anti-tenant comments and ignorance about the law and misunderstandings about the differences between selling private property and tenanted property. People need to know that the timeframes for selling a tenanted property are very different to a private home, because of laws about notice and contracts. Landlords who try to sell outside of these timeframes will find they cannot do so and those buying need to understand them too. Simply calling the tenants squatters or obstructive is totally incorrect - they are there perfectly legally and can be for months to come.