Lettings agent and tenancy help

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I purchased a property a week ago with a tenant in situ. We need to move in to the property ourselves at the end of August so have been contacting letting agents since last week to get them to give tenant notice by tomorrow. We have heard nothing from them since we completed and currently they do t even have our bank details to pay us the rent from the tenant? Please help. We are accidental landlords just because we don’t need property till August

When is their rent normally due? Assuming that they are on a rolling contract, or towards the end of their fixed term, you must give them two months notice from the start of a rental period. It isn't just two months from whatever date you choose. The proper section 21 paperwork must also be served, although one would hope that the letting agent will know this. What happens if they decide not to move out? Eviction takes time.

You aren’t an accidental landlord. You’ve chosen to buy a property with a tenant in situ. That means you have chosen to enter into the business of being a landlord with all that entails.

What will you do if the tenants refuse to move out? A section 21 notice does not end a tenancy only gives notice that you intend to apply for the tenancy to be ended. Given how hard it is to find rentals right now your tenants could choose to stay put until a judge ends the tenancy as is their right.

Have you re-registered their deposit?
Do you know if they are in a fixed term or rolling contract?
Are you allowed to give notice at the moment under COVID rules?

Really? Where is the house OP? If you are in the UK and told your conveyancer of your intention to live in the property, I am amazed they didn't advise you to buy with vacant possession and if you didn't know you can't serve a s.21 notice at the moment then you must have had your head in a bucket.

Unless you were buying a property to let, how on earth did your solicitor let you exchange with the tenants still there?
You need to get onto your solicitor and ask how you were able to buy a house without vacant possession - this could take months to get them evicted, you might not even be able to get the ball rolling until lockdown has completely ended.

I'm hoping that you have a buy to let mortgage and landlords insurance to cover the period of time you'll be renting it out. And I hope the rental contract has been changed to have your name on the details. And I hope you're aware you will need to pay tax on the rental income / submit a tax return for 2020/2021.

Sounds like a bit of an odd position to get yourself into.

At present with Covid, if you're in the UK you need to read the laws around possession orders and timeframes because it's not the same as before. Check out the RLA website.

Yes know all the laws around tenancy. It’s because we are abroad and didn’t need the property straight away so solicitor and lettings agency said it was easy to sort out. Accidental was the wrong word. I apologise. Yes deposit has been moved, notice of change of ownership etc. Notice was due to be given on day of completion but hasn’t happened. Original notice period for tenant was 4 weeks and we had exchanged contracts pre Coronavirus so were tied in to this completion date with tenant in situ. Obviously notice period for tenant has now been extended to 3 months. Courts are not hearing eviction notices till September 30th but you can give notice to a tenant. There are 9 other properties in the same block currently for rent similar price so there won’t be any problem with them finding a property. I am just wondering what we do if lettings agent doesn’t give notice when we ask?

Yes we have insurance and no BTL as it’s a cash purchase.

There’s no reason why you can’t issue your own S21 notices if the letting agent won’t.

I wouldn’t assume that they can move property easily even if there are properties available. Many people are furloughed, on short hours or just plain out of a job which will affect any affordability checks letting agents might want to do.

Don’t forget to let the letting agent know that you are overseas so they can withhold any tax you might liable for as part of the Non-resident Landlord Scheme.

There is not a hope of you moving into that property in August.

In an emergency you could rent one of the empty homes for rent in the same block. If you need to move in August. If it's the same rent, you can use the rent you receive from your tenants to pay your rent.

If you're desperate to move into the place you bought asap, you could offer them money to help with their move. They're under no obligation to take it but it might make it easier for them to find somewhere else quickly.

The only way I think you have any hope of achieving this is to talk to the tenants and help them to rent one of the other houses and help them with their move. Is the estate agent who marketed the house also the managing agent? Have you got a management agreement with the agent? Are you emailing or trying to contact the agent by phone? I think you need to speak to them and enlist their help, not just instruct them to issue a s.21 notice, hopefully they are also the agent for at least one of the other available properties.

This is a prime example of exactly why you need vacant possession unless you intend to continue to rent the house out.

As a pp states, if you get nowhere you will have to rent one of the other houses yourselves.

I have a genuine belief in seeing the good in people. What about all the students who move out every year at the end of tenancies. They don’t refuse to move do they??!! Call me naive but they are lovely tenants who have rented for 2.5 years, always paid rent on time, answered all our questions when we viewed the property etc. They knew we didn’t need property till August. They work for a university so it was helpful for them to stay in flat till end of the academic year then move over the summer. We just need the legal bit sorting by the letting agent we are paying but they are tricky to get hold of currently.

Toffee yoghurt that’s a great idea, willlook in to it.