Surely I’m not expected legally to have this tenant in my property forevermore??

[Saywhetw]

Tenant been in property since 2017. I need to sell. Solicitor telling me we can’t used section 21 as I didn’t provide the right information at the time of the tenancy and also didn’t carry out electrical report or gas safety checks. This was oversight on our part. We can’t seem to use section 8 as tenant paid rent and isn’t a nuisance or anything but she literally won’t move even though we’ve asked repeatedly she just says she hadn’t got anywhere to go. It doesn’t seem right there’s no way out of this?? Solicitor said best they can do is write a letter asking her to vacate. I will get a second opinion tomorrow but really panicking now

The OP isn’t the victim here regardless, she’s acted immorally and illegally and is now trying to evict a good tenant after leaving them in a potentially unsafe house for years. It’s entirely right that the law protects the tenant in this scenario

Landlord crying about not being able to make someone homeless because they didn't follow the basic minimum easy but incredibly important safety checks.

IANAL, but AFAIK the tenancy is not automatically ended by a sale - unless the tenants agree to a new AST agreement, it simply carries on.

@Saywhetw - you need to own that you messed up majorly and consult with a specialist lawyer on how to rectify the situation.

Though I fear you’ll end up having to pay the tenant a fairly large 5-figure sum to get them to vacate the property.

Your best option is to pay her off so she leaves voluntarily.

Put in up with a tenant in situ?

Cash for keys.

The owner occupier have full access to information which the tenant doesn't, so it isn't the same .

Thinking about it, wouldn't the owner occupier's insurance have something to say about it?

Did you really expect sympathy when you've acted so badly? Did you do any upkeep on the property?

Not doing the safety checks is a bit more than an oversight OP. I guess you were trying to make some money off this property on the cheap, and it's backfired. Maybe a useful if painful lesson about pinching pennies with legal and safety requirements costing more down the road. Obviously you're now in a tough spot, and that's hard, but you are where you are.

At this point, coming to a mutually beneficial arrangement with the tenant seems your best bet really.

The law has changed very recently with the Renters Rights Act. This abolishes s.21 notices, but one of the grounds for possession is the landlord wishing to sell the property. It’s not straightforward, and as the Act is so new there is inevitably going to be much uncertainty on certain points of interpretation. Definitely get legal advice from a solicitor that is clued up on the new legislation.

It's not law yet

It received royal assent last week.

Yes, but that still doesn’t make the bill law yet.

That's so strange. What's the point of the "fixed term" then? What does it mean?

But it’s OPs property? Tenants should realise that they are only ‘renting’. The property is loaned to them for a period of time, with the probability that at some point the landlord will want their property back. And I say this having rented myself for years before I got on the property ladder. Whether a gas or electric certificate was obtained or not doesn’t alter the fact that the property doesn’t belong to the tenant and they need to move on if OP wants their property back…

Well actually she’s given up her right to an easy eviction by acting illegally, and that is her own fault.

Honestly I’m not surprised private rentals are like hens teeth. Which sane person would want to be a landlord? Government better sort themselves out then and get building more social housing, or homelessness is going to get out of control.

OP screwed themselves by not following the law.

So you became a landlord in order to make money but failed to fulfil even the most basic requirements of that profession and are now suffering the consequences.
If you need to sell you could sell with the tenant in place, but will have to take the hit on price that will inevitably cause.

Either way - this is not the fault of the tenant and they should not be penalised for your inability to run the business you started

If people want total control over their properties they shouldn't charge other people to live in them. Being a landlord is entirely optional, if they don't like the responsibilities they don't have to do it. Can't have it all ways.

Why would they move on when it suits them to stay? The tenant is sitting pretty at the moment.

Just quite amusing how wrong someone can be.

I agree, it’s not great to miss something like that, but I’m pointing out to those that feel that this should mean the tenant shouldn’t be evicted full stop, that it’s irrelevant as far as ownership and rights to the property go. Maybe Op should be fined, but it’s a bit harsh to suggest she doesn’t get back her property on the back of it.

Get yourself a new solicitor as the one who has advised you doesn't know what they're talking about! You can issue/provide your tenant with EPC/EICR/etc now in order to comply and then issue your section 21.

Alternatively...

People who own houses that they don't need to live in themselves, but instead rent out to tenants, should realise that they are only the 'owners', and that house is the tenant's only 'home'.

We are all only on this Earth for a period of time, and it's quite selfish and immoral to lay claim to more space/ resources than you actually need, and profit from another human being's need for shelter...

Whether a gas or electric safety certificate was obtained does alter the legal position, and means that the landlord cannot easily force the tenant to move out. I suspect the other missing paperwork may well be proper notice explaining where the tenant's deposit has been put - this would also legally stymy any attempt to evict (and could result in some hefty compensation being paid to the poor tenant).