Gave 2 months notice to tenant but they have not vacated. They should’ve vacated 16th Feb. They have applied for a flat but the housing assoc cannot find them anything suitable as tenant has a disability. We want to sell the flat … but first refurbish the bathroom so really want the tenant to leave. However I can see that it will take ages for suitable alternative to be found.
So firstly, can we put up the rent or would this have implications? Only by a reasonable amount say 30 / mth.
A few questions come to mind…
What does your tenancy agreement say about rent increases?
How does increasing the rent help your tenant find a suitable place to live so that they can vacate your property?
Why aren’t you moving forward with eviction at this point?
If the tenant doesnt leave at the end of the notice, you will have to apply for a court possession order and ultimately bailiffs. Expect this to take up to a further 6-9 months.
You can increase the rent provided your contract doesnt preclude this and the tenancy is now periodic. There is no limit on the amount of the increase, but if the rent is above similar local properties, the Tribunal can reduce it.
Thanks for the comments. The property is remted through a local property management company who manage most of the flats in this particular block. We are in a small rural market town. So, yes we will check the agreement in place with the tenant. The tenant has some of his rent paid for by local council and will need to find alternative accomodation which wont be easy - he has applied to the council but the waiting list is long especially as he will need accomodation which suits his disability. We dont wish to cause him undue problems but at the same time want to sell our property, especially because the bathroom has deteriorated as it is not fit for purpose for his bathing needs (water splashes and causes damp). All in all we want to make it good again and sell. The outlook is that it will take a long time for the council to find a suitable property. We want to be reasonable with him and yet reclaim the property. So, after the 2 months notice period is up (now) it is a case of wondering how best to go forward. Being new to this problem i was tryuing to research the various ways forward! Thanks
Thanks David - so we will check the contract regarding a rent increase. As the tenant is likely to be there a while, it is worth us considering this. The added factor here is the tenant is disabled and relying on the council to find him alternative accomodation. There is a long waiting list and he needs accomodation suited for a wheelchair. For ages we have had continual bathroom repairs owing to him using an ordinary bath which is not suited to his equipment - causing damp issues etc. So I just want to be able to put in a new bathroom and sell -whilst being reasonable towards him. Anyway - thankyou