Eviction?

[Beetlewing]

My sons just rung me in bits. His landlord wants to sell the house he shares with another lad and wants them both out. I'm not sure this is legal. Doesn't a house have to be sold with sitting tenants? And during covid? If anyone has legal advice or personal experience I'd appreciate it

It depends on his lease but it's likely to be legal if notice has been served as per contract.

He could contact Shelter to check on legality or CAB.

england.shelter.org.uk
Look at Shelter website. Lots of advice there.

There's a (currently very long) notice period and process the LL needs to go through but ultimately, yes, he is free to sell the house.

This happened to me and my DH a few years ago. Landlords decided to sell so we had 2 months to find somewhere new to live. I think as long as the landlord has given some sort of notice (I think a month or 2 is acceptable) it is legal. Ask your DS to check their tenancy agreement.
I've seen houses go on sale and for rent online so don't think COVID is having any impact really to be honest.
We're in Scotland so rules in England might be different.

No the house doesn't have to sell with sitting tenants. The landlord can request the buyer accepts the tenants, but he doesn't have to.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-landlords-and-tenants#notices-seeking-possession this seems to suggest 6 months notice.

So is it still called an eviction and requires 6 months notice?

England? your son needs to read the how to rent guide and get informed. There are variants for Scotland and Wales.

assuming the landlord doesn't also live there, notice is 6 months. That is notice of legal proceedings for eviction. Tenants don't have to leave until the bailiff arrives, which at the moment is 18 months or more away.

solutions for the landlord are to sell the house tenanted or bribe the tenants to leave.

@murbblurb

England? your son needs to read the how to rent guide and get informed. There are variants for Scotland and Wales.

assuming the landlord doesn't also live there, notice is 6 months. That is notice of legal proceedings for eviction. Tenants don't have to leave until the bailiff arrives, which at the moment is 18 months or more away.

solutions for the landlord are to sell the house tenanted or bribe the tenants to leave.

Except if the tenant allows it to go through to a warrant of possession the tenant will be liable for the court costs, so best to move within 3 months of the expiry of the 6m notice.

Also any notice is invalid unless an how to rent booklet, epc, gas safety cert, is provided before the commencement of the tenancy, and within 28 days deposit is protected, and prescribed info served. And any notice served must be in the prescribed form (6a).

If the landlord chooses they can sell with the tenant in place. Nothing will change except the landlord.

As a landlord, I understand that the notice to quit is currently six months, with exceptions for non payment of rent and nuisance.
But that is plenty of time for your son to find another place to live, so I see no reason for any delay beyond the six months. Your son will most likely need a reference to rent another place, and he won't get one if he doesn't comply with the terms.
I am selling a flat and while I gave my tenant an official notice to quit, I told him he was welcome to stay as long as the process took. He decided to move as soon as he found another place, and so gave me his statutory one months notice, which was much shorter than the three months notice I gave him (pre regulation change). So I have an empty flat that I can't rent out, but that's the way it is - he was within his rights to leave, as I was to ask him to.

poster above is correct regarding possible consequences and items needed to make section 21 valid. In practice the costs of eviction are almost never enforced on the tenant; the landlord needs to take a separate court action to do it and even then it would be awarded at a few pounds a week, so most don't bother.

If OP's son reads the easily available info (even if the landlord hasn't provided it - which would make the section 21 invalid) then he'll see he holds all the cards.

Thanks for your replies. He's going to have trouble finding another place to rent as he lost his job during lockdown. Tricky times

Maybe the landlord is in tricky times too and for whatever reason is having to sell his house. This is the deal with renting ,it is landlords house your son is borrowing it and now the time is up. I feel for your son but I feel for the landlord too and if we didnt have landlords renting property we would Bevin a bigger housing mess and issues like this really put landlords off

Not all landlords are rich either and forcing him to pay to go to court to get his own house back is wrong and unfair morally