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

I hope every single landlord sells up .

To whom? Not everyone will have the means or the desire to buy.

I wouldn't issue a new tenancy agreement! You'll be tied in, and close off any possible routes to evict her.
My understanding is the new reforms will enable you to give her notice if you are intending to sell- I think it'll still be a s8.
You need to speak to an eviction specialist (cheaper and more knowledgeable than a solicitor. Mark Dawson at AST is highly recommended on an online forum I'm a member of. I have no personal experience though.
If your tenant is paying below market rent you may wish to consider formally raising it - a low rent will encourage her to sit tight.
Meanwhile, you need to educate yourself more on the responsibilities of being a landlord.

You say the tenant won't leave as they've nowhere else to go. Have you discussed this with them? If the issue is that they can't afford a new deposit, moving costs or the difference in rent between what they're paying you and the market rate for similar new properties, you could offer them a lump sum equal to the difference in rent over a period of time.

If they're reasonable and that's genuinely why they can't move out, it may actually end up costing you less then a lump sum big enough to convince them to go, a lengthy legal process or the difference in sale price of you sold with them still renting.

I think we must be on the same online forum...

@FancyCatSlave Just pointing out that as a landlord you don’t have any legal right to insist on a fixed term contract at renewal if a tenant doesn’t want one. The tenant has the legal right to refuse a new fixed term and the tenancy automatically becomes a rolling contract. You can decline to accept a rolling contract as a landlord - but you can’t prevent it if it automatically becomes an rolling at the end of the fixed term period, and you can’t force a fixed term on a tenant who doesn’t want it. I had a landlord who tried this shit too. Once. Also reprehensible if you’ve been automatically issuing and insisting on them.

Not entirely- landlords will still have more liberty to serve notice on a tenant than the did 30 years ago. The RRB isn’t heralding in some new previously unheard of restrictions on landlords.

They are replacing S21 with new grounds that allow a landlord to do exactly that. The difference is the landlord now needs to prove that’s why they are serving notice.

I don’t see how it can work . Landlord wants to evict so says they want to sell property . Property doesn’t sell so back on the rental market .

Good landlords follow the simplest rules. It's not as though OP has fallen foul of some complex, obscure law. It's landlording 101.
And on what basis are most landlords good? That's not remotely my experience.

Why do you keep saying this? It’s not true. A landlord cannot end a tenancy without following the correct process.

You seem to be equating the end of the fixed period with the end of the tenancy (or contract as you call it). Thats not the case.

My husband tested Trecarrell House in court and the judge wasn’t interested. He was missing a gas safety certificate from the start of the tenancy because a letting agent he had fired for incompetence claimed it was done but there was no paperwork.

All gas safety certificates done except for the one right at the start of the tenancy.

Judge dismissed Trecarrell House ruling without explaining why.

Yes, absolutely nothing to do with supply and demand. 🙄🙄🙄

We're landlords - you can issue the missing paperwork and then serve the section 21 but you'll need to be quick as they are getting rid of them soon. I've seen these guys mentioned a lot as being very good eviction specialists www.ast-assistance.com/

The RRB says they’re not allowed to put it back on the rental market for 12 months. Not sure how they will enforce, presumably through threat of fines.

As with most landlord legislation, this is yet another fine example of penalising good landlords to limit the actions of bad landlords. A good landlord might well intend to sell, put house on market and get no interest or their circumstances change so they decide to relet. However now they find they can’t for 12 months, house potentially sits empty, one less property available for tenants.

Under the new RRA selling the property is one of the Section 8 grounds

Contact these guys - they seem to have a good reputation around evictions:

www.landlordaction.co.uk/eviction

Oh dear. I take it you’re a bitter ex-landlord with an axe to grind?

Do you do this crap to your tenants too? She doesn’t have the paperwork to issue

This is from the Renters' Rights Act: To prevent landlords from abusing the moving in and selling grounds, landlords will not be able to market or re-let their property for 12 months after using the moving or selling grounds.

It’s like all legislation isn’t it . Far easier to issue a blanket rule than address the rogues . Like the call for the dangerous dogs issue to bring back licensing for all rather than stop the types of people keeping large dogs in unsuitable environments.

Far better to leave it empty and pay 12 mths costs and have the flexibility to do what you want with your own property .

Funny how you forgot the gas and electric check but didn't forget to collect the rent.
Did you remember insurance?
Did you protect the deposit?

Play the long game, stop all talk about eviction amd selling the property to the Tennant. Then work through your list of 'oversights' over the next 6-12 months. The more you stress your Tennant out the more she/ he will dig their heels in. You have been a bit silly and a bit arrogant to think you can basically do what you want and won't be answerable to legalities.

Well that's a pretty stupid comment. In your own home then it's one thing not to maintain it properly, but gas safety is no joke and the reason we have those regulations is to prevent people dying from carbon monoxide poisoning or gas explosions.