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Original poster

landlord selling property, feeling trapped and Fxxked......

43 replies

feathers21 · 02/10/2015 23:33

(Please excuse my English as I am not a native speaker.)

We moved up from London to the Midlands two month ago.

The plan was to rent for a couple of years while we save for deposit to buy our own.

After hundreds of miles of driving up and down and battling with other perspective tenants, we finally secured a house that suits everyone. (short walk to school and space for hubby to work at home etc.)

The pervious tenants lived here for 4 years so we thought we could stay for at least one or two to start with.

In order to get this house, we paid double rent ( here and London) for a month, get rid off our lovely sofa ( it is a sofa here) , getting new wardrobes for all 3 bedrooms, ( there is no wardrobes at all) did lots of DIY.

After we moved in, we painted all the walls ( pervious didn't paint) , fixed lots of small things and made it really homely. I was relived that is the last time I'll ever rent.

we so happy here we even got a kitten.....

and two month in, this happens......

We only got our new wardrobe for two weeks......

Got it from the agent today that the Landlord is having trouble financially, he needs to sell his house within 3 month.

Yes we understand his difficulties.

But what gonna happen to us?

I just looked online, there is not many properties around this time of the year, they are either too small or too far away.

Don't know where will we spend our Christmas?

DS 's birthday is coming soon, I promised him to do a party this year (he never had one, poor thing) but it is not going to happen now as we will be busy packing or unpacking.

And the cost.....removal company, agent fees, deposit......

We want to buy but we are not ready, We have used up our savings to move here, credit cards are full too.

Feeling lost.

OP posts:
RNBrie · 02/10/2015 23:36

Did you sign a contract?? Contact Shelter for proper advice, they will be able to help you. So sorry you've had such shit news Flowers

RitaConnors · 02/10/2015 23:41

That is awful. We got evicted once and it made us feel so powerless. Where in the Midlands are you? Long shot I know but I do know some people who are LL in the East Midlands.

Like Brie says, do you have a contract?

Sallyhasleftthebuilding · 02/10/2015 23:46

Also, arr they selling as tenanted? A friend of mine who rented was ok when this happened. Worth asking.

Original poster
feathers21 · 02/10/2015 23:55

thanks brie, rita and Sally.
we have a 6 month contact, it would become a rolling contact once pass the 6 month period. We singed it at the beginning of July so we've got 3 month left.
But the landlord want us out asap as he need to sell to raise money.
I am in west midlands.
We did ask the agent if this property can be sold as investor property, but the agent said it has much higher chance to be sold as a family home.

OP posts:
Original poster
feathers21 · 02/10/2015 23:59

forgot to mention we now have a 3 month old kitten. Not many landlords want to rent their house to people with pets. our current landlord is nice enough to accept it though.

OP posts:
Racundra · 03/10/2015 00:05

Landlord is only obliged to give you the notice as stated in the contract you signed, I'm afraid.
Is there any chance you could buy from him?
I know it sucks, but this is how renting is in the UK. It's not good for people's stability.

tribpot · 03/10/2015 00:05

LL cannot terminate your contact early. I agree, confirm your rights with Shelter.

mandy214 · 03/10/2015 00:13

Do you mean the landlord is giving you notice to go at the end of the contract?

Original poster
feathers21 · 03/10/2015 00:19

we'd like to buy but we are not prepared. we don't have deposit ( have to borrow from bank of mum dad) we had lots of outgoings in the past few month and taken out a new credit card, not sure if we can pass the mortgage affordability test.
we have contacted our account for information and we also found a couple brokers. we are doing everything we can but the hope is very slim.

OP posts:
Original poster
feathers21 · 03/10/2015 00:24

Trib , Mandy,
The agent hasn't given any written notice yet. we got 3 month left on the contract, they won't be able to give me a section 21 until next month.
the agent on the phone says : "we won't charge you if you move out early".
I know we can stay util the end of Jan, but I can't stop feeling sad, I just settled here and I don't want people to come around to view the house all the time.

OP posts:
RitaConnors · 03/10/2015 00:30

I would start looking at it like you are staying until the end of January. It is sad/unfortunate for the LL that he has financial difficulty but you need to put your family first. Don't tell anyone that you are prepared to move out earlier. I am a LL and I also rent the house we live in. The LL is looking after his own interests which is fair enough, but you must look after yours.

There is a chance that you could buy a different house before you need to move out.

Original poster
feathers21 · 03/10/2015 00:44

thanks rita for your comforting words.
we gonna have our options open for the time being. we will try to get a mortgage while looking for a suitable place to rent.
hubby also says he will move if landlord give us one and half month rent to cover the moving.

I just think looking for a house over Christmas time is so heart breaking.

DD's new friend from school came to play today , they've been talking about go to the park/clubs together as we live so close. feel sorry for DD that is not going to happen anymore.

Sorry been very emotional.

OP posts:
neepsandtatties · 03/10/2015 08:04

Would you be able to afford to buy the house you are renting (assuming mortgage etc?). If the landlord is in need of money, it will be appealing to him to sell to you, since he won't have any void period, and is likely to get his money earlier than he would if he had to sell it on the open market. That should be worth several £1000s discount to him, so you might be able to negotiate hard and get a cheap house for your money.

Obviously this is of no help if your rented house is out of your price range.

wowfudge · 03/10/2015 09:57

Ah - so they are in effect trying to negotiate with you to end the tenancy early. Has the landlord already found a buyer? There is no guarantee he will sell within three months anyway so I would wonder whether the deal is already done and he is being pressured to complete by a certain date. If money is short it would normally be better to have tenants in the house for as long as possible before the sale completes.

For you, it may be better to look around now and see what is available than wait until the end of the tenancy because the rental market will be very quiet around Christmas. If you can't buy now - and you would have to work quickly to find somewhere and complete within 3 months - next time you rent ask for a 12 month AST rather than just 6 months. Please don't spend lots of your own time and money improving someone else's house without negotiating a rent reduction to cover the costs if the work you are doing is needed.

With this house you are in now, I would consider doing a deal with the agent that your deposit is released early in full allowing you to use it as a deposit on the next place if you leave early. Whatever happens, you want everything agreed in writing.

Original poster
feathers21 · 03/10/2015 10:10

neep:
we can afford the house but we are not prepared to buy yet, we were planning to look carefully for our first ever home.
I don't think we can buy this house now, agent just told us that landlord's been to court last week and he has to sell the house as vacant, in that case we have to move out no matter.

just to booked to view a house in a couple of hours. not as good as our current one but more expensive. :(

OP posts:
Original poster
feathers21 · 03/10/2015 10:21

wow:
Thanks for your advise.
we've started to look now, as you mentioned there's not many properties around at all.
we told the agent that we've no savings left to move and pay for another property while we are still paying rent here, she said she is going to speak to the landlord.
we have stopped our direct debit which is due out tomorrow. and will ask for early release of deposit on Monday.
my area is very popular, two houses on the next street both sold within 2 month. and this one is selling for a good price so we guess it might go soon.

OP posts:
Sallyhasleftthebuilding · 03/10/2015 10:32

They will.have an issue with it being tennanted, a thred on here advised the buying not to exchange unless vaccant because you may have to go to court to evict. Not saying youd do that, but you are in the stronger position.

Original poster
feathers21 · 03/10/2015 10:53

Thanks Sally.
We will ask them to pay us back for what we lost.
That's the best we can do.

OP posts:
wowfudge · 03/10/2015 11:16

Sounds as though the landlord is in serious debt.

wowfudge · 03/10/2015 11:19

Hang on - you do need to still pay the rent. You are in breach of the AST if you don't and could be out of there quicker than you think if the LL starts eviction proceedings. This will seriously affect your negotiating power via the agent.

Original poster
feathers21 · 03/10/2015 11:36

wow:
I know, the money is due out on the 4th but it is a Sunday.

We will call the agent up first thing on monday to discuss whether we should pay rent or not.
If we have to pay then we will not be able to move until the eviction, which will take even longer, the landlord will be in worse situation. I don't see there is any other way other than we not paying rent. But we will see what the landlord say.

OP posts:
specialsubject · 03/10/2015 11:48

no discussion, you pay rent as per your contract so reinstate that direct debit. You get your deposit back when you move, so you use it for the next place. You also have a tenancy for the next 3 months and cannot be evicted before then. See below.

if the landlord is unable to pay the mortgage the place will sell and you will be evicted - this situation is the only one where you could be evicted before end of tenancy without a breach on your part, BUT it is unlikely to go through before the 3 months is up.

you do not have to leave early. You do not have to allow any viewings.

that's the law and where you stand. Now some ideas.

  • you could do a deal with the landlord to go early, if you want.
  • you could sit tight after the end of the tenancy and wait to be evicted. Not ideal as that will make you a much less desirable tenant.
  • the sale to a non-investor cannot exchange until you have left because of the above. So you hold the cards here.

sorry about Xmas and parties, but they don't really matter. Roof over head and food matters. Think about what you want and speak to the landlord. Meantime pay the rent.

can I also refer you (and all other tenants) to this new government publication.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent

mandy214 · 03/10/2015 11:49

Agree with wow - you will shoot yourself in the foot if you don't pay rent on time.

tribpot · 03/10/2015 11:51

No, you need to continue to pay your rent. How quickly does the landlord want you to vacate? He cannot evict you during the period of the AST. As wowfudge says you will lose negotiating power with the agent if you don't continue to pay rent.

Please speak to Shelter before you do anything else. Don't do anything on the verbal say-so of the agent only, she is only proposing to negotiate with the landlord, nothing else.

WhatsGoingOnEh · 03/10/2015 11:54

If you don't pay the rent, you are giving your landlord exactly what they need: a reason to evict you before your contract finishes. PAY YOUR RENT.

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