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Original poster

Tenants in a property for sale

94 replies

Paragon6 · 30/07/2022 14:32

I just wondered if anyone knew the common practise or have been in the same boat.

We're in the process of buying a flat which has tenants in at the moment, we were told they need 2 months notice to move out which is fair enough but at what stage would they be given notice?

We've asked the estate agent twice who has avoided the question and our solicitor has asked the sellers solicitor and not had an answer.
I completley understand not giving notice as soon as an offer is made as things can go wrong, but we're pretty much good to go our mortgage is approved, searches back and paperwork signed. Surely if they're waiting for us to complete before giving notice that's quite a big delay they would have to tell us about? Or am i just a FTB being niave?

Thanks so much for any help!

OP posts:

RidingMyBike · 30/07/2022 19:07

I sold a house that was tenanted (it had been my home, then I'd moved for work) but I had a good relationship with the tenant and letting agent, so explained the plans to them, and that I'd be giving two months' notice at the end of the 12 month AST period which I didn't want entering the roll over monthly period. Tenant quickly found somewhere else so I let her leave early without having to pay rent for the final month (there wasn't a break clause) as it worked better for me to be able to get it on the market sooner. Many landlords will want to get as much rental income as they can from the property so wouldn't do this!

The rental market at the moment is terrible - we moved into rental temporarily last year to break a house buying chain and to relocate for work. It was incredibly difficult to find a suitable property, many landlords didn't want a tenant with children, none would consider allowing pets. All of them wanted a minimum 12 month tenancy. Competition was intense with back-to back viewings for properties. So even if the landlord wants the tenants out and they're looking for somewhere they may be struggling to find something.

TheMagicDeckchair · 30/07/2022 19:23

Eeksteek · 30/07/2022 17:08

As someone who will shortly be on the other side if this problem, I have been advised not to give the tenants notice at this point. It is my preference to sell to another landlord with a sitting tenant (best for everyone. Neither landlord loses income, and no disruption for the tenant) but obviously I can’t control who will make viable offers, and it’s largely the buyer and their financier who will control the pace (there being no upper chain)

I obviously don’t want to evict perfectly good tenants for a flaky buyer, though. I don’t know what (if anything) exists to help you give the landlord confidence.

I think it’s a bit of a leap of faith. I accept that we might have a void period for 2-3 months but that’s just something we’ll stand. If the worst happened and the sale fell through we could relet easily, it’s a hugely popular area and rents have grown 20% in the last year. We’re only selling to pay down mortgage debt.

The offer I received from an investor was significantly lower than the first time buyers. Most investors are looking for a cheap deal.

Honeyroar · 30/07/2022 19:24

I’d ask the tenant- they’ll probably be more honest than the estate agent. “Have you already been given notice?”

pinkpetunias · 31/07/2022 07:23

I bought a house to live in that was marketed whilst tenants were living in it. Do not exchange until they have left.

In our case the notice was served at a decent time in the process but the communication around whether they had or hadn’t found somewhere to go wasn’t great. In the end the tenants did move out on time but it was cutting it very close.

It was all very stressful, so I wouldn’t be doing it again! You have to be prepared that the tenants might refuse to leave and have to be evicted by the courts, adding long delays. This seems to be even more of an issue at the moment because rental properties are scarce and prices have risen.

rwalker · 31/07/2022 07:43

It's not a major problem as long as you aren't worried about time scale. To get people out if the refuse is unbelievably long .The tenant can stay put pay nothing and LL has a massive timely and costly process to follow . Also if tenant a twat can cause a few £1000 of damage because it's not worth the LL pursuing and they will never recover the cost let alone legal fees . Make sure you have agreement and such damage will be at the vendors expense

UsernamePain · 31/07/2022 07:54

have a read of the shelter website, it details the rights that tenant’s have and the notice that that the landlord will need to give.
If the tenant approaches their council for assistance, the council will advise tenants not to leave at the date their notice expires, rather wait until they have been evicted by the courts before accepting a homeless duty for them.

this could add another six months to your exchange date, depends if worse case you are happy to wait that long.

MrsDrSpencerReid · 31/07/2022 10:49

We bought a flat with a tenant in place.

She had 9 weeks left on her lease when we purchased, so after exchange she started paying the rent to us.

She ended up moving out in 5 weeks so we were in 4 weeks sooner than expected.

We’re not in the UK and there wasn’t a rental crisis back then though!

Baker90 · 31/07/2022 10:53

We're tenants and our landlord is selling. Still haven't been served notice. Thankfully we're good tenants and have managed by fluke to find somewhere else and move out soon but with the market how it is, if we didn't find somewhere and needed help from our council we could of very much still been here in 2023.

For someone buying I really wouldn't recommend it. The tenants could be like us, and will happily/luckily find somewhere else but equally the rental market is diabolical right now both in amount of properties and prices now, that if they have no option but to ask the local council for help, they will be told they have to wait out until bailiffs come. That can take months!

Connie2468 · 31/07/2022 12:22

2 months to move out is best case scenario.

What if the tenants can't find somewhere to move to? What if they decide to buy a house once they're given notice?

It could take 6 months or a year for them to move out. If you are happy to wait that's not necessarily a problem though.

Forestgate · 31/07/2022 17:43

I wouldn't offer on a tenanted property

Twiglets1 · 31/07/2022 19:54

My daughter was in this situation and she said a few weeks after having her offer accepted that she wouldn’t be exchanging contracts until the tenants were out. She then has a final viewing to make sure they were really gone before exchanging contracts.

Original poster

Paragon6 · 31/07/2022 20:18

Definitely not happy to wait, we have to be out of our own rented property at the end of September and have a 6 month old, so staying with family/friends isn't a long term solution.
For the people in the same position and waited for bailiffs etc could i ask why you didn't drop out of the sale once the 2 months passed and you knew the tenants wouldn't leave? I think that's what i would do but maybe i'm missing something. (Thanks)

OP posts:

Connie2468 · 31/07/2022 21:47

Paragon6 · 31/07/2022 20:18

Presumably because they were able to wait.
The tenants will have to leave eventually, it's just not possible to say for certain how long it will take.

Eeksteek · 01/08/2022 00:30

MrsDrSpencerReid · 31/07/2022 10:49

We bought a flat with a tenant in place.

She had 9 weeks left on her lease when we purchased, so after exchange she started paying the rent to us.

She ended up moving out in 5 weeks so we were in 4 weeks sooner than expected.

We’re not in the UK and there wasn’t a rental crisis back then though!

I’d be astonished if the mortgage lender would go ahead on this basis in the U.K. these days. It would be a breach of conditions.

SuperCamp · 01/08/2022 00:52

I wouldn’t have paid for surveys, searches etc on a flat that still had resident tenants.

I viewed places where the tenants were clearly packing and were buying something themselves.

If the tenants have lived there 10 years they will have put down roots. They may very well stay until they find somewhere similar at same cost. They may well wait for eviction if they want council accommodation. It could take many months.

Outrageous if surveys and searches done but the vendor has not even served notice.

Italianmamami · 01/08/2022 01:11

I was given notice at the 4 month mark as I’m in a fixed term tenancy agreement so it couldn’t be done before then. However the council did advise it really should be done once the house goes up for sale, this is possibly to allow the council time to help with rehousing. The section 21 notice is 2 months but it sounds like the current owner isn’t keen on losing rent whilst they are waiting until the house sells. The next problem is the section 21 means the tenant doesn’t need to leave when the 2 months expire they can stay until the current owner takes them to court for possession of the house.

Goingforarun · 01/08/2022 01:46

As long as they leave before exchange of contracts you’re ok. Make sure you’re solicitors know this.

ittakes2 · 01/08/2022 06:31

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Surely it is because if their rental contract expires soon the landlord is assuming it’s going to be vacant soon - and this assumption could be the problem as the tenants might not comply.

SuperCamp · 01/08/2022 08:11

The section 21 notice is 2 months but it sounds like the current owner isn’t keen on losing rent whilst they are waiting until the house sells. The next problem is the section 21 means the tenant doesn’t need to leave when the 2 months expire they can stay until the current owner takes them to court for possession of the house.

This is your problem.

The length of time it takes for the vendor to gain possession could well be past your mortgage offer expiry date. Meanwhile mortgage rates are going up, and you are paying rent to another landlord rather than into your own mortgage.

Your solicitor needs to find out the rental status.

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