Do I need to serve my tenants a notice to vacate?

[NextDoor2017]

I'm in the process of selling my BTL property. My tenants decided to move anyway and we had agreed a date for their move.

In order for the sale of my property to go through, do I need to serve a notice to vacate, or can we just show them an email between the tenants and ourselves that they will move out on X date?

TIA

You need something better than an email. Either they surrender the tenancy, or you issue a section 21. Which does not end the tenancy because you are landlord and you can't.

No sane solicitor will allow exchange until they have left.

You should really know how his is you’re a LL, it’s the absolute basics.

Look up a section 21. But this is just a notice to quit. It can take months and a visit to court followed by bailiffs if they change their mind and decide not to go. Any inaccuracies in the section 21 will result in it being invalid.

If you plan to become a LL again in the future you should consider a Training course.

Oh dear, 19lottie82, I seem to have upset you with my post.
I'm not a professional landlord and this will certainly not involve going to court, bailiffs etc. as the tenants have decided to leave the country (because of Brexit) just as we wanted to sell the property because we don't want to be professional landlords.

Thank you for your advice specialsubject - I'll ask my solicitor about how the tenants surrender the tenancy.
We're very relaxed about it all, it's just that the buyers want to exchange asap and my tenants have given me a date when they want to leave (the date is perfect for our buyers). Just thought I'd ask on here if I needed anything more official than an email.

Thanks anyway

Why the “oh dear”? You haven’t upset me OP....... but unfortunately there are no differences between your legal obligations as whatever you would consider a “professional” LL, to assume otherwise is very naive indeed. As is saying the situation “definitely” won’t end up in court, situations change and you seem to have absolutely no idea how to protect yourself if the tables do turn!

I’m simply advising you how to avoid any potential disasters, both in this case and if you decide to ever become an amateur / accidntal / professional (?) LL again in the future.

Good luck with your tenants and house sale. I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

Sounds like should all work, but you do need that official surrender for the buyers. There is nothing stopping the tenants deciding not to leave.

As is saying the situation “definitely” won’t end up in court, situations change and you seem to have absolutely no idea how to protect yourself if the tables do turn!
I totally understand the point you have made here and I also cannot believe how naïve the OP is being in thinking that ending a tenancy is always simple.

OP - What documents have you served the tenants with so far?

What sort of agreement do you have with them, standard AST or something different?

How many months??

When did the agreement begin?

How long was the agreement for?

If you both agree a leaving date between you then there is no need to serve a notice. This is called a mutual surrender and is perfectly acceptable. Just make sure both of you have this agreement in writing. However if the tenants do stay on after the date you have agreed- you will need to obtain a court order to evict them.