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Original poster

Help! How do I tell the tenants?

26 replies

PurpleMustang · 30/11/2020 11:57

I want to do this the best way possible so am asking for advice, do's/don'ts. Background is that I have a house that I need to sell (have no choice in the situation) and the tenants have been there about 10 years, hence feeling even worse about this. I have been putting this off as this first became an issue just before first lockdown, so put it off, hoping that the whole pandemic situation would be better by now but it's not as I would of hoped. An agency look after the property so I don't have direct contact with the tenants, in fact I have never met them. Always wanted to keep out of they way and not be in their face. So I don't know what their situation is like and how they will take this. I would obviously love and give them the option to buy it first. If they wanted, could I sell it with the tenants still there, do any landlords buy property with existing tenants? Do I let the agency tell them or if it was you would you prefer the owner to do it? I just feel really shit about doing this so want to make it as less crap for them as possible, without putting my foot in it. Any advice welcome (Oh and please don't complain about me being a landlord, it was accidental in that it wouldn't sell so this was the next option at the time)

OP posts:
bringbackCabanas · 30/11/2020 11:59

First hurdle - are you legally allowed to give notice at the moment?

Weblefleb · 30/11/2020 12:02

Landlords definitely buy with tenants in situ but obviously this means selling to landlord which might not be an option!

Personally, as a tenant I would have preferred to have heard it from landlord and it gives you a chance to communicate the “first refusal” idea easier.

Random63638 · 30/11/2020 12:03

Regarding "sitting tenants" it will depend on the type of area and who is likely to buy. You reduce your pool of potential buyers to landlords if you have tenants, but you are potentially more attractive to those landlords. Unfortunately I think you may have to give notice if they are not in a position to buy themselves.

Original poster
PurpleMustang · 30/11/2020 12:06

Thank you both, good points I need to check. I know there was an period of time that people could not be evicted but will check if that did end or get extended.

OP posts:
ramblingsonthego · 30/11/2020 12:07

At the moment you will have to give them 6 months notice, so it might be worth doing that sooner rather than later. I would write to them explaining you need to sell and offer them a slightly reduced price if they wanted to buy it. If they don't or can't at least you have started the eviction process. Although if they don't want to leave it will be a long time till you have vacant possession which any buyer who wants to live in will have to have to buy your property. You may get lucky and get a buy to let buyer but there are not a lot around at the moment.

mummmy2017 · 30/11/2020 12:08

I'd let the agent tell them, they do it all the time.
Maybe offer them 2 weeks to decide if they want to buy, buy it could sell fast so be aware they need a set time frame.
Also tell them if they need to paint or if your going to do that.

TooManyDogsandChildren · 30/11/2020 12:08

I'd have thought you speak to the agents and get them to tell the tenants and help you serve notice correctly. I'd suggest you also involve a solicitor to oversee the notice process. The process is technical and I suggest you don't do it yourself.

You can serve section 21 notices again now but with 6 months notice and there is a backlog at the courts if you need to go to court for possession so it will not be quick.

The agents are also the best ones to advise if there is a market for your house if sold as an investment with tenants in place.

Original poster
PurpleMustang · 30/11/2020 12:10

Thank you Random, yes I do see that i would be narrowing the field of buyers, but would like to try first if the tenants would like to stay. There are some very big businesses nearby so a good rental area for a landlord

OP posts:
Original poster
PurpleMustang · 30/11/2020 12:19

Thank you all, yes great point about giving notice properly, maybe the agency out do it from the legal point of view but I could go with the agency or not long afterwards to see them. I do also need inside the house to see if/what needs doing. I need to write a list of questions to ask the agency.
Can i ask where to look regarding length of notice. The contract I know says 1 month for both sides but has the government intervened on this, when till?

OP posts:
BigBadBox · 30/11/2020 12:21

If you do sell to the tenants the letting agency may be entitled to money

MyOwnSummer · 30/11/2020 12:24

I'm in the process of going through the same situation. Slightly different, as due to my tenant's behaviour I was not inclined to do much beyond what was required by law. And he agreed to leave with less notice as it suited him to do so.

The S21 notice is six months from the date of issue, assuming you are in England. Given that, I would issue it right away along with the offer to give them first refusal. There is every chance that they might say "oh yes we'll buy it, give us a week or two to look at mortgage options, oh no wait now we need another week or two...." etc. And if you have not issued the S21 then the clock starts from the day you do it, not the day you asked them the question.

It is tough on them, but with six months' notice it is not the end of the world, if they can't buy then they have plenty of time to save up a deposit and look at options.

I had a lot of viewings while the tenant was still in situ. As he was relatively clean and tidy it wasn't much of an issue, but it was still very offputting to potential buyers. Frankly, as a prospective buyer I would not even consider making an offer until the tenants were 100% out. Six months is the date you can start a court process - there is a huge backlog. They could be sitting there for a year or more.

If you need to sell within a reasonable time frame, in all honesty, you need to treat this first and foremost as a business decision. Give them the S21 and tell them you will be putting the house on the market ASAP. If they want to make an offer, the pressure of having others potentially bidding against them will help them to get a move on with it.

MyOwnSummer · 30/11/2020 12:27

Oh and it is six months from the date of the next rental payment. So if they pay rent on the first of the month, you need to issue them the form today to take effect on 1st June 2021. If you do it tomorrow or later, the date will be 1st July 2021.

dementedpixie · 30/11/2020 12:28

Previous to cuvid it was a minimum of 2 months notice and at the moment its 6 months

www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/section-21-and-section-8-notices

dementedpixie · 30/11/2020 12:28

Covid*

Original poster
PurpleMustang · 30/11/2020 13:18

Thank you everyone, I will speak to the agency and see how helpful they are with all the information needed for it to go smoothly

OP posts:
murbblurb · 30/11/2020 14:10

six months notice minimum, and then if they don't go (as they have a perfect right not to do) probably a year to the bailiff with the huge backlog that has built up. If they want to go on the council list they will have no choice but to wait for the bailiff. Make sure all your legals are 100% up to date.

realistically your options are to see if they will buy it or to sell to another landlord. Hopefully one of those will work out.

BTW you weren't an accidental landlord, there's no such thing. The property wouldn't sell because it was overpriced for the market. I'm sorry if that would have put you in negative equity, but that's the way things are.

Changethetoner · 30/11/2020 14:20

Of course there are "Accidental landlords". We had a house sale agreed in 2008 but the market crashed and the buyer withdrew. We were left with the property, having already moved to a new area. Nobody was buying in 2008 after the crash, so we became "Accidental landlords" in order to have some money coming in, rather than an empty house sitting there like a great big unsold pumpkin.

steppemum · 30/11/2020 14:29

hang on, the tenants have been there for 10 years.

Doesn't that mean that they can refuse to move under sitting tenant laws? I think you may need legal advice.

Original poster
PurpleMustang · 30/11/2020 15:22

@murbblurb sorry to crash your bubble but mine is just about the same as the next poster. Needed to move in 2008, put it up, had one offer from an investment company for the price I paid for it. They were told in no uncertain terms to fuck off. So we carried on moving but rented it out instead

OP posts:
Original poster
PurpleMustang · 30/11/2020 15:23

@steppemum oh heck did not know this. This would just be about my luck

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 30/11/2020 15:28

Googling suggests that if they took out a tenancy after 1989ish then they won't be sitting tenants

Catforaheadrest · 30/11/2020 15:38

Purple Mustang... great name btw. My boyfriend used to talk about wanting a purple mustang! I’ve been saving for years, would love to buy a btl as a pension. I’ve been surprised how hard it is to find anywhere to buy that still has a tenant. What sort of value are you expecting for the house and IS it feasible that a LL would want to buy it? If you divide the annual rent by the price you want is the answer more than 0.05?

CodenameVillanelle · 30/11/2020 15:40

@steppemum

hang on, the tenants have been there for 10 years.

Doesn't that mean that they can refuse to move under sitting tenant laws? I think you may need legal advice.

No!!! Those laws were disbanded by thatcher in the 80s
thecapitalsunited · 30/11/2020 15:49

Deciding to enter the rental business because you couldn’t sell a house at the price you wanted does not make you an accidental landlord. You’ve still chosen to go into that business so you should inform yourself of the relevant regulations and keep yourself updated.

If I inherit a food business is it ok that I don’t know about food production regulations just because I’m unable to sell the business at the price I wanted to get?

CodenameVillanelle · 30/11/2020 15:50

@thecapitalsunited

Deciding to enter the rental business because you couldn’t sell a house at the price you wanted does not make you an accidental landlord. You’ve still chosen to go into that business so you should inform yourself of the relevant regulations and keep yourself updated.

If I inherit a food business is it ok that I don’t know about food production regulations just because I’m unable to sell the business at the price I wanted to get?

Indeed
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