Landlord Selling Property

[itsonlysubterfuge]

Our landlord is planning on selling the property and has put it up for sale already. I had some questions that I seem to be having a hard time finding the answers to. I tried to ring Shelter, but they couldn't answer my questions until Tuesday. Thought I would see if anyone here has any advice.

A bit of the background is that we have a shorthold tenancy agreement that ends at the end of March. We have allowed them to carry out their inspections and allowed someone to come and value the property, however the landlord lied to us and said they wanted it valued for a second mortgage. The landlord is with a letting agency so we mostly deal with the agency.

The agency said they wanted to have some people view the property. We replied by e-mail saying we would not allow someone to view the property. They have finally e-mailed back. They are asking again for a viewing and implied that if the house sells we will be given 3 months notice to leave the property, but if we allow some of the people to come and view it, those people have said if they purchase the property they are happy to wait until our tenancy is over in March.

I'm pretty sure we have a right to stay in the property until our tenancy agreement has ended, is that correct? Also if the landlord does sell the property, don't the new owners have to abide by the current agreement in place? I just want to make sure I know our rights before I respond to the e-mail.

Also, before we get called out for being awkward the reason we aren't allowing viewings is because it's just too stressful for my family. My MIL has PTSD (among other things) and finds anyone in her space extremely stressful. My DH and DD both have autism and having a change in routine and people coming to the house causes them both an extreme amount of stress for a long time. It takes them weeks to calm down after and that doesn't include the anxiety before hand. My MIL also has severe asthma and it just worries us the we have no idea who these people are that would view the property and whether or not they may have Covid 19.

Thank you so much for reading my long winded essay.

Ynkk lo was there is a legal agreement that you can stay until March, I would not be inclined to allow viewings, call shelter for advice.

Wtf! Unless there is a legal agreement!!

Our shorthold tenancy is until March, so yes, I believe that counts as a legal agreement. I will definately be calling Shelter. My DH is just worrying and I was hoping someone may know something to help alleviate some of the stress until Tuesday. Thanks for your reply!

Until March 31st they have to give you 6 months written notice . Due to covid

As pp said, if they can serve you notice during the tenancy, right now it has to be 6 months which takes you to March either way.

Assuming you’re in England?

You don’t have to allow viewings at all.

They can’t evict you until the end of your tenancy - a new buyer would have to abide by your tenancy.

So just reply saying you will not allow any viewings during your tenancy, there’s nothing they can do about it.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housingadvice/eviction/evictionnnoticesfrommprivate_landlords

Thank you all so much for your advice, it's really helped ease our worries a bit. Renting can be so stressful!

I've had experience both sides (family member is a landlord and I rented a few properties) I find it stressful and annoying - I countered this by saying we would only allow viewings at x time on x day and didn't give them a key so if they turned up any other time they couldn't come in.
By not allowing viewings it puts your LL in a really awkward position, have you read your contact regarding allowing viewing etc? I don't think it's fair to allow your LL not to sell the property because you don't want viewings.

Surely Covid gives you some leeway to say no viewings?
When we had to move like you op council tried to say we had to await a court eviction notice to be declared homeless!

Covid gives you a massive advantage .
If you wished you can be in there a lot longer then 6 months . They are only just starting to act on evictions from March and even then it's the anti social and non rent payers being dealt with first . You just keep paying your rent and if you choose to not allow viewings that's your choice .
This is the worst time for people to be faced with this situation. Hold your ground . You are protected .

They can issue a s21 but as the notice has to be 6 months they cannot serve it to end before your fixed term. So if your ft is due to end 12th March, the notice period must either end on 12th March or later.

If you are in the property at 1 minute past midnight on 13th March your contract becomes either a statutory periodic or contractual periodic tenancy depending upon the wording in your agreement.

So your tenancy does not end at the end of a notice period. The only way a tenancy can be ended is by you giving notice and surrendering the tenancy, or a court issuing a possession order, followed by a warrant of possession which is when bailiffs are appointed to remove you from the property. Obviously you receive notice of these proceedings.

You can and probably would be liable for costs if your landlord had to take legal action but costs are limited to around 300. For example you cannot be forced to pay their solicitor bill etc.

The agency is not being truthful with you re your legal position. Don't forget they work for your landlord, not you.

You are in breach of contract for refusing viewings. However there is nothing your ll can do about it and there would not be any financial liability for refusing. However you should ensure you allow a gas worker to carry out the gas safety check, and an electrician to carry out the electrical testing as these are for your own safety.

I should add your ll cannot apply to court until the 6 month notice is up. The notice must be a form 6a. It cannot be just a letter or email.

And there is a huge court backlog, probably around 6 months of backlog at least, unless they clear them very quickly which I doubt.

You have the right to quiet enjoyment of the place therefore it does not matter what they've put in the contract, you can refuse viewings.

The LL cannot sell to a non investor whilst your tenancy is in place unless the buyer is a cash buyer as a residential mortgage requires vacant possession and that's not possible whilst your tenancy is in place.

Posts on here are always horrendous! Not all landlords are evil.

He/she has a right to sell THEIR property that you essentially borrow from them.
They are giving you six months notice which is required by stating March.

It depends on your contract if you have to allow viewing but if it's with an estate agent they generally would be in there.
You would be in breach of your tenancy if you didn't allow them.
Don't let them come any day any time. Tell them you want one day as a "open house". Go out for the day and they will do all the viewings in one day, usually a Saturday and then that's one lot of tiding up and one day of hassle. Yes it's annoying but that's part of the deal with private renting, you are privately renting someone else's property.

All the people staying stay and and wait to be evicted and go to court?! Absolutely beyond me how anyone would advice this.
I have been on both sides. The renter and the landlord.

They are going to sell the property regardless, you dragging your heels for no other reason than to upset and disadvantage someone is pathetic.

You'll need the reference from the estate agent for any future private let's and word gets around agents on people who are nightmare tenants.

I don't agree with them lying about the remortgage but how do you not know that they didn't originally plan to remortgage, the house is now a good price so have decided to sell?

If you want more security, don't be a rolling contract or short term agreement, which you have chosen. Don't private rent go to HA or council, or look into shared ownership.

We used our previous ll as a reference.. He also waivered the last month's rent. I told him honestly I would struggle to find a place in the legal 10 weeks he had given us and pay and save for new place. He also helped us load the van while he did the inventory.. Not sure he exactly offered but dh told him he wanted us gone he needed to help!!
We got a great new place with his glowing personal reference.. Better than leaving on bad terms.

@nancyjuice7 I'm not saying wait for a possession order I'm saying op probably has around a year before she will have to leave. There is no evidence here notice has been properly served on a 6 a and certainly not 6 months as required. Until a notice has been correctly served it means nothing as it is invalid and time does not start running until a valid notice is served correctly.

Op did you receive a 'how to rent' booklet?
Did you give a deposit and has this been protected in a scheme and you been given full details about it?
Were you given an EPC?
Were you given a copy of the gas safety certificate and is it still valid?

Unless you have received these documents any notice is invalid.

Landlords are running a business. The least they can do is follow the law and employ decent agents who do not lie and mislead tenants. I'm a landlord by the way and landlords/tenants like Ops give us all a bad name and its shameful some of the tricks they try to pull.

Dragging your heels ???? NancyJuice7 these human beings are not pieces of wood in a chess game 😡 they will be looking for a new HOME not a place to lay their heads .

If it is in your contract to allow viewings (and it almost always is), it doesn't matter as a lease does not trump the law - you are entitled to refuse viewings.
Do you have a break clause in your contract? Covid aside, there is usually a notice period of one month on your side or two on the landlords. As there are special covid rules, any notice to quit served after August 28 is six months. However. If you have a good relationship with your landlord, why make it so difficult? You will find it very hard to rent elsewhere if you fight it as you will not get a good reference. Make it clear to the agent the notice must be six months - they must already be aware but state it. Then start looking. If you find a place you only have to give one months notice. You will have to move - I do not understand the general opinion on mumsnet that landlords are greedy and dishonest. Some just have to sell, and it makes no sense whatsoever to make it so dramatic!

@nancyjuice7 I think your post is pretty horrendous tbh. The OP cannot stop the LL from selling however as a tenant she has rights and it is not on that the agent is trying force them to allow viewings. The LL should market the place for sale once the OP has moved out unless they can sell to an investor who will keep her on as a tenant.

As they have not long moved in I do not agree . Why take tenants on if you are putting it ion the market a month or two later ?

That was not to Wowfudge

Wow, so much great information. Thank you.

We were assured at the beginning of this tenancy the landlords were interested in long term tenants and would be happy for us to live in the property for years, only to find out they have actually been trying to sell the property for years! We aren't trying to make it difficult for the Landlord and we appreciate that he needs to sell his property, but the amount of stress it causes my family to have someone view the property is unreal.

For all the people asking, I re-read the tenancy agreement and it does not mention viewings.

@Lineofconcepcion Yes, they did provide us with all of those things, just not the gas certificate because there is no gas at the property. We have not been given a notice, but thank you for letting us know that it needs to be an actual form. Also, we really appreciate all the advice you've given. My DH has been sick (literally) with worry over this and it's really helped him feel better.

@nancyjuice7 I appreciate your post, but we are not being difficult for the landlords on purpose. We know they lied about the remortgage because they put the property up for sale in July and asked us about the remortgage in August. Allowing viewings is not just annoying, it causes my family significant health issues. We did not choose a short tenancy. We have an assured shorthold tenancy, which is a pretty standard tenancy agreement. I'm a carer for three people, my DH and MIL are disabled. We do not have the money to just purchase shared ownership. They don't give mortgages to people who rely on benefits.

@Pipandmum Thanks for letting us know. We honestly are not trying to be difficult. I just wanted to know the law and we are planning on being as helpful as we can, just putting our families health first. The only thing we are saying no to, is the viewings.