Is this risky? Re: buying/selling.

[IUseAnyName]

We are currently renting and in process of buying a house. Our rent terminates at end of April but we don't see us completing on the house before then.
The vendor has said that we can move in before exchange & completion, which is really nice of him. (He will be moving in to his girlfriend's house) This is a private deal we have made between ourselves, and he has said that if it (completion) doesn't work out then we can just move back out again... Which of course we would do!

But I've had the ea on the phone today saying that we can't legally do this. is she right? Is what we're doing a bad idea?

Could he rent it to you until completion? He should be able to get a solicitor to draw a contract up for this.

My MIL died in the middle of selling her flat and due to probate things were held up and her buyer was in danger of losing her own buyer if she didn't move by a certain date. As MIL flat was empty we had a contract drawn up to enable the buyer to rent until the sale was completed.

It's a bad idea but as far as I'm aware all the risks would be on the seller's side rather than on yours. You could (in theory, I'm sure you're lovely!) trash the place, refuse to move so he would have to evict you, stop paying rent, pull put of the purchase or try and drop the price whilst trying to put off other potential buyers....etc. I'm sure their solicitors would strongly advise against it, and it may well invalidate their insurance and cause problems with their mortgage company. They would also need to ensure the house meets the legal requirements for rental - gas safety, fire doors, etc - which you don't have to meet if you're selling.

Can you go onto a rolling contract with your current rental, ie renew month by month rather than sign a new contract?

We're on a rolling contract already but ll is kickingus out as he's a dick! (Another story).... We've asked if we can extend but he's said no.

I thought the risk would be mainly on the sellers. We are genuine, nice people but obviously that doesn't count for anything....
Just hoping we can atleast exchange before eviction, then there'd be less risk if we moved in!

Whichever way it happens you both need a clear agreement drawn up. You need to be able to break out of renting if something goes wrong and he needs to be able to get you out if you don't buy.
Say your survey turned up asbestos or subsidence. You need to have a plan for what happens if you can't exchange. What if the mortgage offers change or they value it under?

He is taking a huge risk in doing this but you are not! If it works you have nothing to lose.