house buyers want us to cover rent until sale complete

[SAF55]

We are in a chain where we are selling and buying, our sale has been slow due to the housing association (we Own a shared ownership) being slow in responding to enquiries however we have chased and chased and tried to progress the sale as much as we could, ultimately it was out of our hands. Our buyers now asked if they could move in before the sale is completed as their rental agreement ends which is a definite no as we won’t have anywhere to move into and have a toddler and in also currently pregnant. They have then asked us to cover part of their short term Rental due to not meeting the ‘deadline’ of when their contract ends. I don’t think we should have to do this as this is just part of the process of buying a house- target exchange dates are not concrete and I understand their position is not ideal to have to rent but we also can’t afford to pay for their rental! We have cow winged contracts so I’m hoping we can still complete in the three weeks before their contract ends but don’t want to lose them as we have lost 2 buyers previously. Any suggestions??

But also why should you pay? A ridiculous request

Reply that you won’t be paying their rent or letting them move in when the house is still under your ownership. Imagine the problems if they pull out of the sale and you’ve paid rent or they are now squatting in your house - you’ll never be able to sell it easily.

*losing

Going against the grain here...

The situation has come about because of factors on your side (shared ownership). And the "their problem, not yours" mentality is one of the reasons that such a high proportion of chains collapse in this country. They're already taking on the, not insignificant, hassle of moving twice, for the sake of everyone in the chain and are simply asking that the cost burden of that doesn't also fall to them alone - seems fair enough to me.

And everyone saying that your purchase will go through faster than starting fresh - true, but they're not sitting pretty in an owned property like everyone else is, they're in a short term rental which they may not be able to remain in for very long. It might be do-able for the few weeks you're expecting to complete it, but if that drags on and on then pulling out and taking a new 6 month contract somewhere might start to look like a better option - particularly with house prices continuing to fall (their liability for your legal costs may be little compared to what they'd save) and the strong position they'd have in a buyers market.

You may not be under any obligation to share the cost burden, but the gesture could go a long way in terms of goodwill to keep the chain together.

Oh, and all the comments saying "They don't ACTUALLY have to move when their contract ends" are ridiculous. Technically true, but will guarantee they won't get the landlord reference they may need if this all falls through; they may already be committed to short term rental they've lined up; and it's an asshole thing to do knowing that the landlord has got new tenants lined up. OP asking her buyers to do that is a far more ridiculous ask than the buyers asking that their rental costs be shared.

@LittleRedY0shi
This is very much part of the house buying process and although it's frustrating, it's just how it goes. What would happen if the OP offered up three months rent for her buyers and they spent that time finding another property and pulled out of the chain anyway? There would be no guarantee that wouldn't happen.

Yes the house buying system in this country needs an overhaul, no they shouldn't pay for their buyers rent while a sale is going through. The fact that they asked to move in before completion is a clue to their frame of mind. It's not reasonable.

Maybe they should ask the housing association for money, considering it’s them holding up the sale

they will need to pay rent or mortgage where ever they are, just like anybody else.

LOL.....no.

It's not ideal to change the end of the tenancy date last minute but nobody is obliged to make themselves homeless to oblige their landlord or potential new tenants. The mistake these tenants made was confirming an end date to the tenancy before they had a firm completion date. The landlord should already have known that their tenants were buying a property and needed flexibility in the end date. The tenants made a mistake not being clear about this.

Echo others above - unless the landlord has already rented out their property, they should be able to extend. Otherwise they will have to put stuff in storage and find a short term rental/stay with family. The rental costs are what they would incur anyway in lieu of the mortgage they are expecting to start paying so they are not out of pocket.

We did this 19yrs ago- and with a new born! We had the buyer from hell: stalked the property when he knew DH was away and I was home alone with a colicky baby, kept dropping the price for the tiniest thing, eg, a cracked internal window ledge, catching a neighbour’s boy playing his drums one Friday afternoon for 30mins etc. We also had the chain from hell (person A wanted to move on a Monday, person B needed 3 days to pack and move items into removal vans, so couldn’t exchange before a Thursday…) so negotiations over an exchange/completion date ran on for 5months.

We ended up with me and DD (2mo at the start) living in the Midlands with my in-laws for 6months and DH living in a travel lodge in London Mon-Thurs so that we could get rid of the stalker. It took me having a total, public melt-down in my ILs’ local garden centre 3 days before Christmas (I’d just had a miscarriage and DH had been unable to come home to support me because of work/new job/distance etc) and telling the solicitor that if they didn’t exchange by 5pm that day, we were pulling out - as we were now cash buyers our funds were propping up the whole chain - and strangely enough it went through at 445pm that day.

But, no, we never insisted that we were reimbursed for storage costs, DH’s hotel costs, (my MH!) etc.

I sold my late Mum's house in October, and paid 750 towards the buyer's rent for the last 3 weeks. It was worth the price to get the sale over the line.

Don’t be pressured into paying anything. They are going to be in a pickle whatever they do. We had no end of clients who gave notice on their rental property when they put an offer on a property and would then panic when it was clear we weren’t going to complete by the date they were due to move out. All buyers paid for temporary accommodation like airbnb or moved in with family and I think I only had three occasions (in 10 years of conveyancing) where the seller contributed towards the cost but this was certainly not the norm.

You haven’t exchanged contracts so you haven’t committed to any completion date yet. Tell your solicitors that you aren’t able to make any contribution towards the buyers temporary living arrangements due to your own financial outgoings but you appreciate the need to complete asap and will chase the housing association again for the outstanding information. Let them relay to the buyers solicitors and the estate agents. Of course it’s a risk that they could pull out but it sounds unlikely as the buyers will be in an even worse position if they do so.

No chance I would agree to that, they could still pull out and you don't know how long it could be for until you have actually exchanged.
We bought as renters and only gave notice when we were 99% certain of exchange and completion dates, so yes we had to pay rent + mortgage for a month but we budgeted for this in our house purchase, it is their responsibility.

They can always lower their offer if the financial impact is too high for them. Or, as a compromise, you could negotiate doing some work on the property at your costs (so you don't lose the value of they end up pulling out anyway). Something like getting the electrics or other small repairs sorted.

No, it won't cost them your fees. You haven't exchanged contracts yet. Until that happens, they are not liable for any losses you suffer if they pull out.

I would say no. It is their issue as they made the error of ending their tenancy before a completion date had been agreed upon. Completely foreseeable and they were daft to do so. So it is their error. I’d just send a message back that you don’t have spare funds to support their living expenses and no they can’t move in with you . CF.

You are the ones with the most leverage, here they are trying to gaslight you into thinking that your position is weaker than it is.
I would politely decline and if asked for reason say 'sorry we are not in a position to do that'- or something equally vague!

I'm not clear if you have exchanged contracts? If yes, then presumably you've committed to a date in it? And they would have agreed to that knowing what their costs/rent would be.

If not, then they could pull out and wouldn't be liable. It's unlikely if you're a long way down the process, but it is a risk. You have to make a judgement call on how likely that is. If it were me, and I'd already lost two buyers plus the delays were on my side, I'd probably try and find some money to make a gesture.

I think my dd is going to ask her vendors to contribute to her rent. She has been clear from the start that she has a two month notice period and would not hand in notice until exchange so there would need to be a two month gap between exchange and completion. Her vendors either ignored this or didn’t pass the info up the chain. There is now outrage at the top of the chain at this delay and dd is being pressured to agree to a shorter gap. She has said she will but only if her rent is paid as she can’t afford to pay mortgage and rent. I don’t think she’s being unreasonable.

Sorry @MrsWobble3 but I think she is being unreasonable as it’s highly unusual to have a two month gap between exchange & completion & it’s hardly fair to everyone else in the chain. Appreciate it’s a difficult situation financially for her but maybe a family member could help rather than expecting a stranger to do so?

She's being totally unreasonable! Why does she have a 2 month notice period? The statutory period for tenants is one month. 2 months between exchange and completion is absurd and nobody will agree to that. Covering her rent for the double period is 100% her responsibility but it shouldn't be 2 months.

That's such ridiculous and entitled behaviour. How do you not see that?

I’m surprised you all think she’s being unreasonable. When she made her offer she told them she needed two months between exchange and completion so it’s not her changing the terms now. They should have refused that condition at the time if it was a problem.

Well yes maybe but also nobody leaves 2 months between exchange and completion and if she's in a chain there was no way that was ever going to be achievable.

you haven't answered why she has to give 2 months notice rather than one?

She may have mentioned it to her Sellers but did the other people in the chain also get told? That’s unlikely and their wishes are just as important as your daughter’s. A simple Google will tell you & your daughter that a 2 month pause between Exchange & Completion is highly unusual & not a reasonable thing for one person in a chain to demand.