Renters won't leave the house I'm buying, they 'can't find anywhere suitable'.

[wirldsgonemad]

But thanks to covid, a section 21 means people have 6 months instead of 2 months to vacate and this means I get charged £4,250 extra in stamp duty, plus mortgage application fees and survey of £1k plus my life being on hold for 6 months.

They are fully aware of my position, they know I'm a single mother of 2 small children and they don't give two hoots that they're actions are costing me £5-6k and months of waiting.

God give me strength to get through these next few months without attacking them on a regular basis.

What would you do in my situation???

Oh the irony. Have you seen what some anti landlord posters have said on this thread? And yet I'm childish for calling them out. Oh dear.

I expect all sorts of people to adhere to the law, comply with their legal obligations and follow best practice.

It doesn't mean I hate them

I hold myself and my colleagues to similar standards within my own profession. It doesn't mean I hate myself or anyone else in my profession. Why should LL be any different?

Or is it that some people become LLs because all they can see are ££££ signs in front of their eyes and anything else seen as an attack?

The problem is there's no minimum level of intelligence (as is required for other 'professions'), no entry requirements, little accountability and no assessment of suitability, which allows people to believe the law doesnt apply to them if they disagree with it for it is inconvenient to them.

That's the problem.

@SorryStateOfAffairs

Oh the irony. Have you seen what some anti landlord posters have said on this thread? And yet I'm childish for calling them out. Oh dear.

I expect all sorts of people to adhere to the law, comply with their legal obligations and follow best practice.

It doesn't mean I hate them

I hold myself and my colleagues to similar standards within my own profession. It doesn't mean I hate myself or anyone else in my profession. Why should LL be any different?

Or is it that some people become LLs because all they can see are ££££ signs in front of their eyes and anything else seen as an attack?

The problem is there's no minimum level of intelligence (as is required for other 'professions'), no entry requirements, little accountability and no assessment of suitability, which allows people to believe the law doesnt apply to them if they disagree with it for it is inconvenient to them.

That's the problem.

This a thousand times over.

Your seller has tried to have his cake and eat it too. Ideally he should've issued S21 in August as soon as your offer was accepted. THAT would've got you the house vacant in 6 months. However he decided not to take the 'risk' in case you don't turn out to be a viable buyer. That's why he's waited until December and further. If you walk away he has no loss. In the process he's not considered that tenants DO NOT need to leave for 6 months from S21. Also there was an eviction ban when this lockdown started, so quite likely they may be going nowhere for several months. He's totally put you to face the brunt of his greed. Just for this reason alone - you should drop this sale OR make him pay for all your losses. Reduce the price by £10k (or whatever the loss is) or walk away!

@TeenTitan007, you can't serve the S21 in the first 4 months of the tenancy, so the first tome he could do it was December. Which he failed to do, deciding to give notice verbally. So pointless.

Your seller has tried to have his cake and eat it too

I think it's pretty clear that the seller (and do we know they're male?) is the sort of incompetent amateur landlord implied by the other mistakes, they were likely very desperate for money - why else would they be selling? In which case they had no choice, I think there's a good chance the OP can get them to give a very big reduction in the price.

@wirldsgonemad

But what happens if I LOVE the house?

There'll be other houses, this could be so stressful for you especially under the Covid circumstances, make life simpler for you.

[quote SeasonFinale]**@AngelicPP on the planet where they strong you along paying just enough rent to not be over 2 months in arrears, then say they have lost their job, then you do realise you won't actually recover any cash so you serve notice and then they do leave then at the expiry of the notice so it doesn't need to go to court and have a judgment are against them bit my by the time they leave (without a forwarding address and are untraceable) there is 6 months arrears. That's the planet where sometimes occasionally tenants do that, as you asked.[/quote]

But they wouldn't just be let off the money they owe is my point...it doesn't just get written off it's just that it may need to be chased after. I do understand that some tenants are a**holes and can be a PITA and I know they can string things out for a long time just for the hell of it but from what you have said about your situation it doesn't appear to be the case. I would usually have sympathy for both sides because I do understand how frustrating it must be to be stuck waiting to sell etc especially when it's something that has to be done because they can't afford to keep up with it anymore, I do see both sides and sympathise usually...the reason I didn't in your case is because of how you spoke about the tenants and the fact that you wished you could just turf them out ASAP which I (and others) found really nasty.
I'm in a situation right now where we are stuck waiting for social housing to find us an adapted house or one that can be adapted and it's been a year now. I feel AWFUL that the LL has had to wait so long as I know they really need to sell, but there's nothing else I can do (apart from us literally being on the streets as nowhere to go) because we would lose our help from housing association/social housing (they would say we had made ourselves intentionally homeless and they then actually have no legal obligation to not help if that's the case! well that's what it used to be I'm not sure about now) and we haven't been able to find a suitable house to rent ourselves. I know though that the LL feels the same way about us! Even though they need us out they still feel bad for having to get us out, they know we aren't dragging out of spite and we know they aren't getting us out because they are just evil! It's frustrating annoying upsetting and a horrible situation all round but it is what it is, things have to be done a certain way even if we don't agree with it so we gotta just get through it. It will be over eventually and we can all move on. Annoying as it is you will have to do the same ive explained myself over and over now so won't be doing so again I am actually unwell and it takes quite a long time for me to get things out right so they (kind of!) make sense and my head has had enough now! I do hope you get your situation sorted but please it's always better if you can be kind while doing it.

@SeasonFinale sorry I have muddled you up with the person I was talking to before!

Also this is AngelicPP I've changed my username just didn't realise it wouldn't change on stuff I've already posted on so I'm sorry for any confusion!!

@SpaceRaiders it would be helpful if you would explain what it is about my "garbled post" that you don't understand so I can try to make it understandable for you rather than just making me sound like I'm somehow beneath you or whatever. I'm sorry if I've muddled words up or got typos or if I've just not made much sense...I have several medical conditions and an bed bound so yes I do struggle sometimes. I don't think you had to put it so rudely tho...a simple " I don't understand your post or point" etc would've sufficed.

@WitchesAreNotSatanists - none of your posts are muddled or garbled, they are perfectly clear and well expressed. SpaceRaiders is just looking for a stick to beat you with.

@Needmoresleep

Lyra, it’s not that hard to keep up.

I get regular email updates from NRLA which alert me to changes which might impact me as a landlord. Easy to read the ones that are relevant. (For example earlier in the week there was one on the Government’s new announcement on cladding which, luckily, does not affect me, so I skipped.) So about £100 a year (tax deductible as I need it for landlord registration), 15 minutes reading a week, and a call to the helpline if I need clarification. Not rocket science.

Properties are valuable assets, worth far more than a six month tenancy. The vendor is not just greedy, he is foolish.

You are obviously a good LL and have just showed how easy it is to actually keep up to date with all legal tenancy changes, updates and news!

[quote TitusPullo]@WitchesAreNotSatanists - none of your posts are muddled or garbled, they are perfectly clear and well expressed. SpaceRaiders is just looking for a stick to beat you with.[/quote]

Thank you I wasn't sure because I can get a bit muddled especially when tired. I'm not always the best at wording things I feel.

I think OP is going to go into a meltdown when she realises that they a re reporting today an extensionm to the moriatorium on evictions !

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56055019#:~:text=The%20ban%20on%20evictions%20in,served%20for%20another%20six%20weeks.&text=The%20eviction%20ban%20had%20already,was%20originally%20due%20to%20expire.

Season, there is an important difference between S21 notice to quit and eviction. Almost all tenants will respond to a properly issued S21 notice. They entered a contract and respect the law. They want to stay well away from courts, CCJs, and evictions and will want a good reference for their next property.

A possession order is issued by courts, most normally because of failure to pay rent, or anti-social behaviour, but also when a tenant fails to vacate despite a S21. I don’t know too much about evictions. Luckily I have never had to do one. It is the sort of territory covered by Channel 5 TV programmes. Though I think it was witches who pointed out she needs to be issued one before her Council will rehouse her.

There is no suggestion that OPs potential tenants are anything but good tenants. The law is on their side. Their LL either needs to issue a six monthS21 notice then wait, or offer them an attractive incentive.

The moratorium on evictions is because the government is worried about a number of renters who can no longer afford their rent. They don’t want them evicted as there is nowhere to house them.

Needmoresleep - I was working on the basis that an eviction would be required because the OP is saying that the renters are refusing to leave.

@SeasonFinale, I'm not sure it can be called refusing to leave if you're only two week post-S21! It's one hell of a stretch to say they're not going to leave within the notice period at this point. But why let the facts get in the way of a massive assumption?

[quote NoWordForFluffy]@SeasonFinale, I'm not sure it can be called refusing to leave if you're only two week post-S21! It's one hell of a stretch to say they're not going to leave within the notice period at this point. But why let the facts get in the way of a massive assumption?[/quote]
The OP's assumption I assume you mean

No, OP is not assuming that.

She is complaining that they won't leave immediately after being asked verbally, and without formal notice having been served. The tenants have a legal right to stay until a six month formal notice (S21) is up. There is no suggestion that they would stay longer and need to be evicted. And Op should have checked her facts before attempting to buy a tenanted house. Being a landlord, whether deliberate or accidental, means having a basic understanding of tenancy law.

There is a lot of inaccurate tenancy advice on MN. I think it is important to to confuse or worry people.

@SeasonFinale

Needmoresleep - I was working on the basis that an eviction would be required because the OP is saying that the renters are refusing to leave.

They have only just been served notice. They have a whole 6 months notice period before they could be expected to leave. There is no 'refusing' unless they are expected to leave before their notice period expires??

Are you any closer to resolving this OP?

Did you say the house was empty when you viewed, it then suddenly tenants appeared. Surely this is misrepresentation, and your solicitor needs to sort this out. The vendor may already have been paid for 6 months rent. Walk away, and wait for your sols to determine vacant possession first. The tenants are in a stronger position. The vendor is desperate to sell, but put tenants in the house. Somethings not right. A house is just a house until it is your home. There are other properties out there.

Any update OP? @wirldsgonemad