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How can we get the tenants to leave so we can sell the property?

April 22, 2014 by Tessa J Shepperson

housesHere is a question to the blog clinic  from AB who is a landlord

We had tenants move into our flat November 2013 on a standard 12 month AST. We have just had an offer on the property but the prospective buyer wants to live in it them self.

Where do we stand on giving the tenants notice? Could they simply refuse to move before the end of the tenancy agreement?

We are having financial problems and want to sell the flat ourselves rather than go down the repossession route.

I am afraid there is nothing you can do. legally, to get the tenants to leave before the end of the fixed term if they do not want to go.

One way to think of it, is that you have already ‘sold’ the right to occupy the flat – to your tenants – for 12 months in exchange for the monthly rent.

So you cannot sell the right to occupy the flat again during the period of the tenancy –  as it is already sold.  All you can sell is what you have at the moment –  which is the right to receive rent and get the property back after the end of the fixed term.

Even at the end of the fixed term – if the tenants want to stay on they can.  The only way you can force them to leave is by getting a court order for possession.

If the tenants fall into arrears of rent, you may be able to evict them during the fixed term.  Otherwise you can only evict them after the fixed term is over by the usual section 21 procedure.  You don’t get any special rights because you want to sell the property.

You can always see if the tenants will go if you pay them – although if you are in financial difficulties you may not be able to afford this.

The other alternative is to see if you can sell the property to another landlord as an ‘investment property’ with the tenants in situ.  Someone over at the Property Tribes forum may be able to advise you about this.

If you want some free guidance on evicting tenants this site will help.

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About Tessa J Shepperson

Tessa is a specialist landlord & tenant lawyer and the creator of this site! She is a director of Landlord Law Services which runs Landlord Law and Easy Law Training.

« Ben Reeve Lewis Friday Newsround #150 (on a Thursday)
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Comments

  1. Richard Hill says

    April 22, 2014 at 7:51 AM

    Hi Tessa,

    Thanks for raising this common problem.

    A tenanted property is tricky to sell, not only for the reasons that you have given, but also because lenders like to see vacant possession for completion of a sale.

    You cannot actually exchange contracts on a tenanted property unless you have conditions written into the contract about the status of the property on completion.

    I can actually offer a solution to your reader as I specialise in purchasing tenanted properties for cash.

    I can complete in a matter of days, meaning that the landlord does not have to worry about any of the issues we have mentioned.

    If any of your readers would like me to make a cash offer on their tenanted properties, they are most welcome to contact me on 0800 157 7497.

    Keep up with the great work you do on your blog Tessa! It is a valuable resource to the property community.

    Richard Hill
    Founder, Dream House Buyer

  2. Chris Sneller says

    April 22, 2014 at 4:30 PM

    My wife and I had exactly the same issue. We needed to sell and had plenty of investors offering £250k but it was worth £275k. We had to offer the tenant £2.5k to vacate which they accepted. This opened the flood gates and we got £296k. We were fortunate in that we could borrow the cash from my parents but was the only way to get the right price.

  3. Richard Hill says

    April 22, 2014 at 4:46 PM

    Dear Chris

    Thanks for your response.

    I appreciate that this can occasionally happen where tenants vacate in return for an incentive (usually financial) however it still leaves the property owner with a vacant property. Whilst the property is vacant and for sale, the vendor is responsible for maintenance, council tax, utility bills, mortgage payments (where applicable), travel expenses and insurance. If you take into account that the average sale will take 6 months to complete, these expenses can accumulate quite quickly.

    We offer a property buying service which guarantees a quick, hassle free sale to homeowners who want timetable to suit them. Moreover, we specialise in buying property which is occupied by tenants, however we buy vacant property too.

    Please feel free to visit out website for more information or I am happy to speak to you anytime.

    I can complete in a matter of days, meaning that the landlord does not have to worry about any of the issues we have mentioned.

    If any of your readers would like me to make a cash offer on their tenanted properties, they are most welcome to contact me on 0800 157 7497.

    Keep up with the great work you do on your blog Tessa! It is a valuable resource to the property community.

    Richard Hill
    Founder, Dream House Buyer
    http://www.dreamhousebuyer.co.uk

  4. Industry Observer says

    April 22, 2014 at 5:23 PM

    Chris is right and an inducement to the tenant is the only other legal option.

    Richard I assume you buy at market rate? Otherwise paying the inducement and losing a couple of months rent may be more profitable and taking the hit any discounted offer from you might involve, though you are right and it is a quick sale of course.

  5. Richard Hill says

    April 22, 2014 at 5:38 PM

    Dear Industry Observer

    Thank you for your comment.

    I appreciate that in this instance, it might be the best option in paying the tenant a quick buck to move (if they will agree) without a protracted possession order.

    We appraise each opportunity on its own merits, however as a general guide we pay up to 85% of the Market Value. This can be more, or slightly less dependant on a number of factors. We are transparent and appreciate that a trade price will only work for a few, however I am confident that we provide an excellent service and have extensive experience in Landlord and tenant and related issues.

    We write numerous blogs each month on our news section – incidentally we have written one on ‘advice when selling with sitting tenants’ and please find the link below which I hope one may find of assistance.

    http://www.dreamhousebuyer.co.uk/news/Advice-when-selling-a-property-with-tenants-in-situ

    Best Wishes

    Richard Hill
    Founder, Dream House Buyer
    http://www.dreamhousebuyer.co.uk

  6. Industry Observer says

    April 23, 2014 at 9:24 AM

    @ Richard Hill

    But in all probablility closer to 75% as an average paid measured over a 12 month moving average, am I right?

  7. Richard Hill says

    April 23, 2014 at 10:28 AM

    Thank you for your response.

    We are keen to increase our portfolio, and thus appreciate that we need to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. We do this by various incentives, however typically because we try to pay the best prices for property. We are very candid in our advertising that we pay ‘Up to 85% of the genuine Market Value’ Some of the factors taken into account will be property type, tenure, geographic location, any adverse/onerous conditions such as building defects, short leases, environmental issues etc.

    We will always formulate offers based on these principles, although usually it is the case that the genuine value ie price to sell is infact less than the sellers expectations, or perhaps an estate agents valuation which we should be able to agree is ‘usually’ more than the eventual selling price.

    We value each property and situation on its own merits, thus we would not pay 85% of Market Value for a regulated tenancy, or rent free life tenancy as the investment value would be considerably less.

    We also buy portfolios, and property with regulated, assured, and life tenants.

    You can find a link to the process explained on our website here: http://www.dreamhousebuyer.co.uk/ProcessExplained

    Best Wishes

    Richard Hill
    Founder
    http://www.dreamhousebuyer.co.uk

  8. Alain Delerm says

    April 30, 2014 at 2:58 PM

    I know a big company in Germany that harass their tenants legally. They pretend that they are renovating the outside of the building and they bring incredibly noisy machines. After a moment the tenants, unable to stand it any longer, leave by themselves. I know, this is cruel…

  9. Industry Observer says

    May 1, 2014 at 7:18 AM

    I know a big man in a red robe and white wig who will award damages to the tenant and against you of probably £20K+ for harassment in the UK for such action!!

  10. shahida begum says

    July 3, 2014 at 8:57 AM

    I am afraid there is nothing you can do. legally, to get the tenants to leave before the end of the fixed term if they do not want to go.

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