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[Help] Advice please re buying a rental property that already has a sitting tenant.



Binney on acid

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Nov 30, 2003
2,472
Shoreham
I'm thinking of buying a flat that is occupied by a tenant. I don't plan to move in for a couple of years whilst I'm working, and would like the existing rental agreement with a letting agent to remain. No rental review. Please advise of any pitfalls that I should try to avoid.
 

DJ NOBO

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2004
6,308
Wiltshire
I'm thinking of buying a flat that is occupied by a tenant. I don't plan to move in for a couple of years whilst I'm working, and would like the existing rental agreement with a letting agent to remain. No rental review. Please advise of any pitfalls that I should try to avoid.

It’s a good plan.
As with any flat, Check the lease situation.
Be prepared for some ups and downs when you let a property - btl isn’t always the cash cow some would have you believe.
 

Justice

Dangerous Idiot
Jun 21, 2012
18,180
Born In Shoreham
If it’s a sitting tenant you can’t just kick them out a developer I work for often has to pay them to leave talking thousands, they are protected by some old law.
 
Last edited:


kevo

Well-known member
Mar 8, 2008
9,083
Sitting tenant means they have the right to live there as long as they like. It is their home. If they have any relatives who have also lived there a number of years, they also have the right to remain. It's a throwback to the days when society treated renters fairly and unscrupulous landlords couldn't just do what the hell they wanted.
 


Chicken Run

Member Since Jul 2003
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 17, 2003
18,215
Valley of Hangleton
The fact that there is a letting agent involved suggests an AST which is fine, check the tenancy to see if the term has expired which if is the case they will be on a rolling contract which suits both sides in a lot of cases.
 

Chicken Run

Member Since Jul 2003
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 17, 2003
18,215
Valley of Hangleton
Sitting tenant means they have the right to live there as long as they like. It is their home. If they have any relatives who have also lived there a number of years, they also have the right to remain. It's a throwback to the days when society treated renters fairly and unscrupulous landlords couldn't just do what the hell they wanted.

Surely in today’s society all a LL wants is a fair reflective rent paid ON time and a tidy tenant who takes care of the property and isn’t a nuisance to neighbors?

I’ve rented for over 12 years with 4 different Landlords and never had any trouble, probably because I look after the property, and never miss paying the rent.
 

Papak

Not an NSC licker...
Jul 11, 2003
1,851
Horsham


Eeyore

Lord Donkey of Queen's Park
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Apr 5, 2014
23,291
If a landlord intends to sell the property then they can issue a section 21 notice. It is a valid reason. Of course, they can sell the property with the tenant in it- as is happening here.

If the OP is happy to buy with a sitting tenant in there then it may work better for them.
 

dejavuatbtn

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2010
7,097
Henfield
If it is cheaper than you would have expected then there will be reason for it.
I am conscious that in some cases of long existing sitting tenants the costs of maintaining the property for rental can exceed the income.
 


Binney on acid

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Nov 30, 2003
2,472
Shoreham
I think the tenant moved in to the property in October. It's rented through a reputable agent. Both her and her daughter could do without the disruption of having to move. I'm not looking to make money, I just want somewhere decent to live when I quit work in a couple of years time. We'd be aiming for a seamless transition.
 

monty uk

Well-known member
Sep 25, 2018
627
Your purchasing solicitor should be able to deal with this easily. By transferring the existing tenancy agreement over to you as the new landlord.
 


lost in london

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2003
1,777
London
Make sure you’ve got a competent solicitor. Rules are tough now on being able to use the s21 notice procedure to get a tenant out of the flat (s21 is the ‘no fault’ route allowing a landlord to kick a tenant out just because they want to, the alternative is s8, which requires some breach by the tenant). For example, if the landlord didn’t give a gas certificate to the tenant before the tenancy was granted they can’t use s21. Also be very careful on the right to rent ID checks. And check as well the tenancy deposit scheme rules and whether they have been complied with / you will be able to comply with them. It’s all manageable, but the restrictions and rules on residential landlords get tougher by the year and there are a number of areas where a technical breach can cause real headaches / costs in the future.
 

Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 11, 2003
73,270
West west west Sussex
A quick question for those of you who know your stuff re a rental agreement.

An Eastern European colleague has just asked if his landlord can increase their rent after all the paperwork his been agreed and signed?
 

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