AIBU to end a tenancy so my niece can live there?

[SunnyDaysAndCoolNights]

We have a house that we rent out to a family with 2 children who have been in the house for about 7 years. The house is in the same city that our niece is at university in.

Just after Xmas, my niece asked us if she could live in the house for her second and third year at uni, (possibly longer) as the houses she had looked at weren’t very nice and she can’t stay in halls.

After speaking to my husband, we decided to say yes and we gave our tenants a section 21 notice in February. Our tenants were/are not happy and have been advised to stay in the house by the council. We thought that may happen which is why we served the notice in February despite my niece not needing the house until September. We were also aware of the new rules coming in soon which would make it harder to end a tenancy.

Since finding out that we have ended the tenancy for our current tenants, my brother and his wife (not nieces parents) have told us that we are ‘typical arsehole landlords’ for ‘kicking out a family’. They think our niece, also their niece is selfish for asking, that she could have found somewhere herself and that we should have put our tenants first as they have been our tenants for quite a long time and they have children. My brother and his wife rent with their children, so obviously that may play a part in their feelings on this. I feel upset they would say these things as I think it’s normal to put your own family first. My other brother and his wife who are parents of my niece are very annoyed at our other brother and his wife.

Would you have done the same as we have or would you have put the tenants first and said no to your niece? I do have sympathy for my tenants, they’re a nice family and have been good tenants, but obviously we love our niece and to us, she comes first.

OP is not a typical landlord. Most are decent.

I wouldn't have done what you did, no.

If I were a landlord I would take the welfare of my tenants very seriously. No way would I kick a family out of their home just because a family member thought it would be nice to live in the property for a year or two.

To see if people would hold the same view as my brother and his wife or not. I’ve spoken to other family, friends and work colleagues and most say they would feel awful doing it, but they would put their loved ones first. Some said they couldn’t have done it.

Most people would be too polite to tell you to your face what they really think OP. Now that you know 90% of posters agree with your brother, does that change your own thoughts at all, even if not your actions?

@SunnyDaysAndCoolNights so she knew there were tenants but she didn’t care that you would have to evict them

Do pay heed to the 90+% of people who think you are being utterly unreasonable btw - many of whom are not renters I'd imagine.

My niece would rather die than let me do this for her.

I'm fact, my niece would probably die from the shame of having a landlord as a family member first.

But then she wasn't raised spoilt, and loves happily in a caravan with her boyfriend and dog ♥️

Many of whom are actually landlords, or ex landlords, including myself.

You will probably start regretting this when the student parties/neighbour complaints start, and then again when the rent will be "soon" or "next month". If your niece moves out at some point it might be harder to get tenants again?

I don't understand the reverse thing so say its the tenant posting as the landlord the thing has still happened.

Sorry, there are a lot of posts so I must have missed it. We did look at properties with her but they were all quite bad or meant sharing. The more suitable ones, were further out than she wanted as she cycles. The house which we now rent is our old house where my niece has stayed many times with us when she was growing up so she feels safe and comfortable there which is easier with her being autistic.

"Die of shame for having a landlord in the family" - do cop on you eeejit 😂

If you think the UK could operate without private landlords you are clearly more daft than your post suggests. The government struggles to provide enough social housing as it is. There are many decent landlords - just as there are decent caravan dwellers and ones who park where they like and throw excrement and waste all over Downs...

We don’t know that she understood this. DN is on the spectrum and probably just asked in case tenants were planning to leave. Still don’t agree with OP’s decision, but not sure you can blame a 19yo autistic.

I hope you are happy with yourself when your current tenants are living in temporary accommodation probably in one room, furniture in storage, maybe with no cooking facilties, if they have pets then the pets won't be with them,maybe miles from work/schools/family. You can pat yourself on the back and be glad to have helped your niece, who truthfully could have found a studio flat for herself.

The niece is young. She hasn't had the life experience to recognise how devastating and difficult no fault eviction is for a family.

As executor, I had to give a section 21 to the tenants of my late mother's buy to let, as it had to be sold to pay her care debts. I felt sick about it as they'd lived there for more then a decade and had kids. But there was genuinely no alternative.

So yes, I think you've been unkind, OP. And though I'm largely a family comes first person, niece asking to stay there was a want, not a need. And your error of judgement now seems to have caused a family fall out between your kids, which is actively harmful to your niece.

Makes no sense you’ve just lost yourself guaranteed rent. Your niece will only be there 2 years.

Please read my posts as all of that has been addressed.

Exactly - and including myself.

I'm a renter fortunate enough to have a superb landlord but unfortunate enough to be stuck in private rentals in the first place. Despite a decent landlord it is torture knowing we're almost entirely at their mercy and that if they decide to, say, evict us to house their niece, we would most likely have to move out of the area and blow up the life we've so painstakingly built for our daughter. Take her away from her school, her friends, her community. Why the fuck should anyone be able to do that to someone else?

No idea why youre getting a hard time op. Landlords never let houses out for altruistic reasons 🤣🤣 moral and landlord are 2 words id never associate with each other tbh

Genuinely not a dig, you have absolutely every right to do whatever you want with your property!

It is your house so you can do what you like. Personally I would not do what you have done to my tenants, I would telling the little princess she needs to find a student let with friends. She sounds like a brat and I hope you have nothing but grief with the property.

YABU I had this happen to me once and it ruined my life and sent me into a depression. People don't comprehend how difficult it is to set up your life somewhere only to be turfed out like you're nothing just to make your landlord's life easier. It's very dehumanizing

On the chance this isn't rage bait, it's not to late to change your mind you know, OP. You could apologise to the tenants and let them carry on living in their home. Maybe even give them a few months off the rent to compensate for the stress you've caused. You could be a decent person still.

I would not have done that. A family, who've actually rented for 7 years, is way more in need of housing than your niece just renting for a year or so. What if she defaults on the rent or causes other issues? That won't be easy to deal with.

Also, your niece was selfish to ask.

? No children have fallen out.

You’re right though, I know I would not feel ok if I didn’t choose my niece and therefore don’t feel we can change our minds. We have to put our niece first and I don’t think that makes us bad people. We haven’t done this to make more money, we’ve done it to help a family member so although the majority here don’t agree, I can live with that knowing I am helping my niece.

There's nothing wrong with helping family OP, but there are so many other ways in which you could have helped your niece and you chose the worst possible - evicting good tenants at a time when it's really hard to find family homes to rent.

That's what's shitty about your decision, not the choice to help the niece but the choice to hurt others unnecessarily.