Mother having to leave her retirement flat with nowhere else to go

[Laguiri]

My mother has been living in a rented retirement flat for the past year, and she’s been very happy there. However, she’s been served a section 21 notice on her tenancy. She has 2 months to leave. The owners are selling the flat. She sold her home after moving in, so can afford to buy this or another flat.

HOWEVER, there are currently no other retirement flats in her price range in the area she wants to live, and someone else is interested in the flat she’s currently occupying who has already bid over the asking price, so there’s the very real possibility of a bidding war (which she will be unlikely to win).

At the moment, me and my sibling are scouring the internet for other flats to rent or buy, as well as negotiating on the flat she’s currently in, with little success so far.

The other problem is that even if she bought her present flat or another one, the sale would be unlikely to be completed before she had to move out, and it’s not at all certain a short-term tenancy could be arranged to tide her over.

Is there an idea we’re missing? A possible short- or long-term solution we haven’t considered?

Thanks for any suggestions.

But she would be classed as vulnerable on age and health grounds.

Hmm agree with PPs - these flats tend to hang around in the market for ages.

@Lemonfoxtrot I think it depends where you live. My Dad lives in a popular retirement area and the flat he bought had several viewing on the first day it went on the market. Luckily he was one of them and put in his offer right away.

If the OP’s Mum is in a similar location, the agent may think they can start a bidding war, instead of offering the property to the tenant first. 😡

Re. Help finding housing. If you need help finding your Mum a new home, Adult Social Services might be able to put you in touch with someone who can help you look for appropriate flats. You’ll have to pay for their services, of course, but I did this with my Dad and it was invaluable. I’m not local to him but she had the local knowledge.

@Spirallingdownwards may well depend ok the judge on the day and their values. But its not automatic