To ask how to make rental flat less likely to sell?

[RainingPasta]

My son and his girlfriend have been renting a nice flat for the past couple of years but the LL now wants to sell it. They haven’t officially been given notice yet so it looks like the agent will be conducting viewings while they still live there.

They will still keep it clean and tidy but they are wondering if there is anything else they could do to make it less appealing. I suggested removing all their homely touches like cushions, rugs and pictures so it looks cold and bare but I’m not sure if that is a good idea?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. They want to delay the sale and might even be able to buy it themselves if it goes down enough in price.

yet again, there is no logic in that response.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find somewhere to rent?

You don't know that, the LL may be renting themselves.
They may have tried to sell at a price they could afford - ie to pay off their mortgage, selling costs etc - but have not been able to.
I agree that housing in the UK is in a mess - but so are many things - and that is not the fault of individuals.
Why is it ok for tenants to look out for their own interests by making the flat look not a good buy, but the LL, who could want to sell for many reasons, not be allowed to look out for their own interests.

As I've said, this individual is trying to not be a LL. Surely, that's a good thing as far as your beliefs go?

Strategically placed mousetraps, say behind but not hidden by the toaster; black mould spray on the side in the bathroom; ant killer in a cupboard in the hall; a dehumidifer running? I wouldn't give a damn about cushions but might think twice about damp, mould and vermin.

You’re just trying to avoid admitting that you’re back-pedalling frantically from your original post.

Exactly, and it’s not nice to lose your home when you don’t want to move.

It's not easy but it's not impossible. Finding ways to sabotage your landlord selling their property doesn't seem like a more appealing option to me.

I also think it is a horrible situation to have to leave your home, but it is always a risk with renting unfortunately.

Allow viewings, but always be there for them. Trail around after the viewers, making conversation with them. Super awkward and off putting, and the EAs will take a while to cotton on

Having said that, I lived a flat that was up for sale and it didn't cross my mind to try and interrupt the process. I did object when the agent came in without warning (illegal obviously) but not to principle of him selling.

You are comparing yourself to the worst possible behaviour and claiming to be better than that as you aren’t doing something absolutely disgusting. Instead approach the landlord and maybe suggest buying it (if you really are in a position to do so) and asking if that would be possible to buy it on or just below market rate (saving for both of you, no need to look for new rental, removals van or estate agent fees etc ) or to vacate etc

I do not see the point of pissing anyone off -or trying to kick the can down the road. Be nice! Don't make it difficult for anyone.

Really? Why so spiteful?

As a landlord of a number of properties I can say and an EA should, you get less money selling the property when the tenant is in situ. Unless it is sold to another landlord who could start increasing the rent and not be so obliging.

Either way the tenant needs to see a mortgage advisor, get a mortgage in principle to see what they can afford.

Puzzling, isn't it? Really can't think of any reason why pp would say that. A real mystery.

Just because you are as spiteful too. I do find it upsetting that your life must be so hard that you behave like this

And owning a rental property these days is extremely stressful if you’re an accidental landlord rather than a commercial one. There are so many regulations and it’s quite honestly not worth the stress involved. It’s not the LL’s fault that there aren’t many rental properties, it’s largely the organisations that have lobbied for so many rules in the tenants’ favour and unscrupulous estate agents that rip you off too especially if they manage your property too. Plus the difficulty post Brexit to get anyone to do any refurbishment work for you. People are selling up because it’s no longer worth their while.

It’s horrible to go out of your way to stop them selling.

😂😂😂
You are funny!

Yes you have. You explicitly stated you wanted to make the property unappealing so that the property price would fall enough that your son could buy it. You are hoping to create a state where the landlord has to sell well below market value.

That's despicable. How you would feel about having to sell your home well below market value because of the actions of others?

You have no idea what the circumstances of the landlord is and nor do you care. And nor does it matter. Deliberately seeking to sabotage another persons' source of income and livelihood is despicable.

But it might get sold to another landlord, meaning they can stay. If they obstruct viewings or make things difficult in other ways then I would expect a section 8 notice being served very soon, then they will be evicted regardless of whether the flat sells or not. I’d advise them to cooperate somewhat (maybe limiting viewings to one day a week of their choice so it doesn’t impact them too much, and certainly not make an special effort to have it clean and tidy) and in the meantime they should start looking for somewhere else just in case. They may get lucky in that it won’t sell or sells to a landlord, but I wouldn’t advise forcing the landlords hand by playing silly buggers.

Other than the one you quoted my responses were light-hearted. Moving is a big thing to deal with, time consuming and expensive. I ended living in grotty places because that was all I could find.

Lots of PPs have said that the flat won’t sell with tenants in. I can only speak from my own experience, but I sold a property within the last 6 months with tenants in situ, who had already been served their notice when viewings started. By the time we actually exchanged/completed the tenants had moved out. I would say this is not uncommon, especially as there is a glut of buy-to-let properties selling now.

Selling can take ages - I would imagine most LLs can’t afford to not have tenants in situ for at least some if not most of the process. I appreciate it’s shit for the tenant - I speak as someone who was also served notice as my LL wanted to move back into her property - but there it is. As others have pointed out you can refuse viewings but really you’re just ensuring your notice gets served sooner.

I’d suggest putting down some mouse and rat traps around the kitchen and hallway, turn off the heating and open all windows before viewing so the place is freezing cold, make sure there’s a really bad (preferably sewerage) smell around the flat before the viewings.

That's quite a low bar you have for you son, "at least they're not trashing it".

Fucking hell

@RainingPasta a landlord is perfectly entitled to serve notice if they want to sell their property and I would imagine this is exactly what they’ll do pretty damn quick if there’s a whiff of the tenants trying to block it. And while we all know it can take time to go through the eviction process, the ultimate losers will be your son and his girlfriend as they’ll be screwed for getting a decent reference for their next rental. Your behaviour sounds not just spiteful but also pretty dumb