Buying a house with a tenant living there?

[KatyMac]

DD is looking for her first flat

We've only been looking 5 months but she is keens to get away from me

We have (up until now) not looked at properties with tenants as we feel to buy a house and give notice to someone was a bit mean; however we are wondering if we need to be more practical

What do we have to think about if we consider this as an option - I am sure just giving notice isn't as easy as all that

Thanks

I've bought property with tenants, and recently looked into selling a property with a tenant owned by my late mother's estate.

In short don't, unless you are an experienced landlord. Certainly don't if you plan to live there yourself. And if you are still determined join the NRLA for about £150 and get advice from their landlord helpline.

The issue is that as a new owner the clock starts again and it is at least 4 months before you can issue a S21 notice, assuming no new Covid restrictions or a change in the law (which is genuinely on the cards.) You also need to have a conveyancer who is hot on checking the tenancy agreement, plus statutory stuff like EICRs, Right to Rent leaflet, and Gas Safe Certs, and who knows which forms you have to issue to inform the tenant. (Available to members on the NRLA website.) Many really don't deal enough with tenancies to know. Get any of the paperwork wrong and the S21 is invalid.

Instead make an offer dependent on vacant possession. If the owner is interested they can try to offer the tenant an incentive to leave. Or issue the S21 themselves and wait. (I recently offered a tenant the equivalent of three months rent, which he thought about for a while, then accepted, in part because it suited him to move from the area.)

However expect the vacant possession price to be noticeably higher than the tenanted price. (Actually I paid about the same but that was because I planned on renting anyway and both were the sorts of tenants I would have wanted.)

I was a tenant in this case and the buyer requested to the landlord that I must move out before they can exchange. Is this something you could try?

I didn't think of it as being mean at all. I was given 2 month notice as per contract and had no problems finding another flat (in fact the landlord said they will give me a great reference as I am "the ideal tenant". I'm sure they said so to make sure I can move quickly )

ask the owners to give notice...the issue is the landlords are responsible for the council tax etc while empty so dont want to pay out if they dont have to....and house could be empty for ages before the sale goes through etc....not all tenants will refuse to move....its a gamble tho...!