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.

It’s reasonable to be angry at the overall shitty system we’re in whereby purchasing a house is not affordable for a lot of people, and renters are therefore at the mercy of landlords (although recent reforms have done a lot to empower renters, and I don’t think being a landlord is a walk in the park either). It’s not very reasonable IMO to behave obnoxiously and obstructively to an individual landlord in the way that you’re suggesting, unless he or she has been behaving badly and not fulfilling his or her duties to tenants. You don’t know what this person’s individual situation is and why they might need to sell.

If you know it’s a fat cat landlord with inherited wealth and 5 rental properties none of which he or she actually needs for livable income then fine I guess have at it, but if you don’t know that’s the landlord’s situation then YABU.

Who seem unable to grasp the fact that the LL has a right to serve notice and would rather piss about and try to delay the sale rather than look for somewhere else to live. They sound utterly professional and independent 😂

Thanks. It isn’t really a viable investment so it’s unlikely to be a LL who buys it.

or they could focus their energy on looking for somewhere to live, instead of trying to play games

We had tenants that obviously tried to make a house we were selling less pleasant. They then made us an offer. We refused and sold to someone else. If they would have just spoken to us and said they wanted to make an offer but needed 6 months to get everything in place, we’d have been open to that. Instead they chose to behave like dicks.

Which is exactly how I’d have expected it to play out, with behaviour like that.

This seems rather unfair and unpleasant. It would be better to devote energy in a positive direction - finding a new flat.

I wouldn't allow viewings while still living there - there's no benefit to your son in agreeing to this. Regardless of the contract, your son and gf have the right to refuse. What's the ll going to do? Evict them?

I think theyshould focus on finding a new home asap rather than trying to prevent a sale. Ll has a right to sell.

You seem to be saying that when they get served notice they intend to stay put as long as possible. That would be madness, they are highly unlikely to be able to find the perfect place and arrange to move within a short period of time.
They need to look and find somewhere asap rather than risking waiting till they are pushed.

It is not illegal to serve notice to tenants when you are trying to sell a house, the landlord will serve the notice ASAP if the tenants start causing problems

You'd think! How negative and unpleasant. Imagine having that mindset.

Let’s see who gets the £ when it’s sold.
That’ll probably give a good indication of who owns the home.

The notice period is four months.

The tenants can call it their home. But it’s the LL’s property

Yes, I mean, why bother 😏

Don't blame you. I've no idea why some people just want to make things difficult and unpleasant for other people. I'm sure most of us have lived in rented accommodation and not lowered ourselves.

Exactly, four months will be plenty of time to sort out alternative accommodation if and when the notice is served.

Which when I mentioned upthread about not doing the cigarette and pet food thing was also the point I was trying to make but another poster told me they would just be 'props' Having rented myself i disagree- viewings and inspections accompanied by the agent or landlord would mean things were noticed and then, how will the tenant explain their ' prop placing' when they're challenged about pets or smoking in the property...? Oh, yes, we just put them there to put your prospective buyers off. 🙈

Me neither. We would never “just want to make things difficult and unpleasant for other people” but how far do you take that? Should they move out immediately so the LL can market the vacant property straight away. That would make it less “difficult and unpleasant” for the LL but they wouldn’t have anywhere to live.

They were left behind by a friend and the cat food was for the food bank. @LilyBunch25 .

Don’t be silly, have you never rented and don’t know how it works. They wait till they are served notice but as they’ve been given a heads up, so know it’s coming, they should start looking to see what’s out there,

Potentially it won't, hence my sarcastic comment.

OK, many thanks for pointing that out, as I would have otherwise thought it was a good idea to leave used cigarette butts and cat food lying about as props. Good grief.

Ok if they are in an area where rentals are in easy supply that’s different in many areas now people apply and there are hundreds of applicants and often gone in the first day