Is there any way to evict tenant before their contract is up?

[WhatABigYikes]

I have two tenants in a flat I'm renting out. They are 6 months into a 12 month contract. There is no break clause. Due to something very unfortunate in my personal life, it would be very very helpful to sell the property ASAP. I wondered if I could ask the tenants nicely if they don't mind looking for somewhere to move - is that allowed? Am I being ridiculous? This was the first time I've rented out my flat and they are the first tenants I have. They are a couple.
Many thanks in advance

If they're contacted to a year then you have to honour that.
also it's a bit shit asking them to leave only 6 months in when they're expecting to be there at least a year

You can’t terminate within contract or seek to evict unless they’re in breach of tenancy or in rent arrears. You can, of course, offer them an incentive to voluntarily end the tenancy early. You can also sell the property with them as tenants - although would have to sell it to somebody who also wanted to be a landlord, as the tenancy would carry over to a new owner.

You can ask - and they can say no!

It's a lot of stress and cost and upheaval. If you were to ask I think you would need to offer some sort of financial incentive to make it worth their while.

It’ll probably take 6 months to find a buyer and get to the sold stage anyway

you are allowed to arrange viewings to suit your tenants and yourself within reason

they are human after all and need a place to live

this way they know they have 6 months to find somewhere new and you’re still getting rent

also I’d maybe offer a cash incentive to keep the flat tidy for viewings and the fact it will intrude into their lives. Reduce the rent a bit

My husband was given some money to leave early back in the 80s (by a loaded TV star who wanted it back to flip). Husband found another place (those were the days!) And had a holiday on the loot

The tenants are within their rights to completely refuse viewings.

So the short answer is no, you can't evict them.

Could you approach them first to see if they may want to buy the property? Didn't think this really happened until a few weeks ago - DC's friend and partner had only been a few months into their tenancy when the LL decided to sell. They already knew they liked being there so are now buying the flat!

Thank you everyone - all replies have been so helpful.

I completely appreciate it is just rubbish of me to ask them if they might be willing to leave only halfway in and I feel really bad about the whole thing.

Unfortunately I don't think they are fans of the place anyway @IleftmybaginNewportPagnell There are a couple of issues they have complained about which are problems with the building (and out of my hands re fixing them eg. Cold water doesn't get very cold and it runs a bit hot for a bit and then eventually becomes cold) and so I feel like we've already got off on the wrong foot.

What does your tenancy agreement say about serving notice? When I was a landlord 4 years ago, my tenancy agreement said I could serve notice on my tenants prior to the contract ending but I had to give them 2 months notice.

I sold my flat after the last tenants moved out and although it sold immediately, it did take 6 months for the sale to go through.

I would offer them an incentive too good to refuse, using a solicitor to draw up agreement.

I'm sorry for your circumstances but it really does illustrate why LL'ing should only be done by professional companies. I wish the government would introduce some legislation to stop amateur LL's. But I would not stop lodging/room for rent in owned home. That's a more relaxed and informal arrangement.

As others have said you can’t do this. Alternatively, do you have a load of cash to offer them as an incentive? A few grand perhaps? ie. pay the deposit of their next place and moving costs.

Offer to pay back half of their remaining rent (ie: 3 month). Being a landlord comes with duties, sorry to break it to you.

Just tell them you need to sell and will definitely not be renewing tenancy

But in the mean time they can leave with no notice and if they find somewhere else they can have a week rent free so when they move they gave a lap over so make moving was easier

Ah great another shitty landlord who has no clue what they’re doing!

That’s pretty unfair - OP is asking what she can do before she does anything. Perfectly sensible way to proceed.

Absolutely not! The Op should know full well what they can and cannot do as a landlord!!

Not knowing what eviction is is a pretty major oversight. Its not just something you can do. Its a whole court process which is done after other steps, such as giving legal notice.

I wish the government would introduce some legislation to stop amateur LL's

To a large extent this has happened - deposit protection schemes etc. It doesn’t “stop” anyone doing it but it does proscribe what they must do.

And how does one know “full well” what to do in a situation? By researching it, asking questions etc. If OP asked Google, she would get answers and you would have been none the wiser, but the good thing about asking people is that you get further thoughts eg around offering the tenants the chance to purchase. (The bad thing, obviously, is that you get berated by some posters,,,)

duplicate - sorry

You have no legal right to ask them to leave early...

What you can do though is tell them you are planning to sell the property at the end of their contract.

They might decide to find somewhere else before their contract ends and you might be able to get possession of the property earlier than planned that way.

And by the way they also don't have to allow viewings if you decide to start marketing the property.

Those are really basic things than any landlord needs to know by the way...

Really wish there was a requirement for landlords to complete a recognised course before they can take on tenants.

As a landlord, the OP should know what their legal responsibilities are BEFORE renting out their house. They should not be coming onto mumsnet of all places, 6 months later, asking how to get rid of their tenants. There are basic legal responsibilities all landlords have to follow and this should be fully researched BEFORE becoming a landlord with no clue how they are supposed to evict tenants. Mumsnet is not the place to find out this kind of information. It’s lazy and this kind of crap tar’s reputable landlords with the same brush!

I would take the use of “eviction” here as a question about “terminating the rental contract early” rather than the court process.

Happy to agree to differ -and as for “mumsnet of all places” - honestly, there’s a lot of great information on here

Clearly something unexpected has happened to OP - bereavement, illness, divorce, job loss. So she is seeking advice on how to deal with that financially. She has heard what she needs to from the thread - that no, this can’t be done contractually but there may be ways to discuss the contract with the tenants that help her. Not sure how you don’t think MN has been useful here.

Anyway, we are poles apart, so I shan’t respond to you further.