It’s so good to have a forum like this to share and support each other through these times.
With the interest so high I have been forced to sell my flat. I first gave the tenants the first opportunity to purchase - which they didn’t so I asked if it would be ok to take it to market - which they agreed.
Its been difficult to get access to get things like photos and light repairs that I have been delayed in getting it to market.
We now have a prospective buyer which I notified the tenant about the viewing 24hrs before but they have come back and said they will be traveling in September and won’t be able to give access until the 30th of September - Over a month away!!!
They don’t want to give access to anyone to the property if they are not present.
It feels very unreasonable. and I am worried I won’t have enough time to get a buyer and be stuck with a mortgage I can’t afford to pay.
Please welcome any advice any one has which allows me legal access the the property to do viewings.
Thank you again for all your help and support in this forum!!
Legally the tenant has “right to quiet enjoyment”, so they do not have to give you access for viewings, only for emergencies and repairs/maintenance. So you have a couple of options:
wait for tenant to leave, so you can take photos and do viewings after they have vacated. With demand for rentals being so high. It shouldn’t take you long to rent out your property.
schedule the photography at the same time as essential maintenance (gas boiler servicing? Other repair work?) so you can start advertising.
Its a mistake to try to sell a property that you are offering with vacant possession whilst a tenant is still living there. Even the most compliant tenants will be finding it difficult to find another property in the current market and it takes almost a year to evict someone at the moment. I think you should re-think the whole thing.
Hello, Is is possible to increase the rent amount to cover the increased mortgage payments? It sounds like the tenants don’t want to move so they may be willing to pay higher rent to stay.
Unfortunately, unless the tenants give you or you agents permission to enter the property for viewings there isn’t really much you can do. They have a legal right to quiet enjoyment of the property. If they refuse you or your agents access then it is possible for you to apply to a court for an access injunction but these are very costly and a judge would take a dim view of wasting court time to facilitate a sales viewing. It would be more efficient to issue a section 21 asap to start the process for possession and then market the property with vacant possession. Due to lack of rental supply there is no guarantee that a tenant will leave even if you have a buyer lined up. Another way is to offer the tenant a cash incentive such as money off the rent whilst viewings are facilitated or offer the tenant a lump sum to surrender the tenancy early.
You cannot force the tenants to allow viewings. I personally think it is reasonable that they don’t want viewings while they are away. There is not much you can do. Just wait until they are back.
If you want to sell with vacant possession, you should first ask them to leave and then shale viewings. It can lead to a lot of trouble otherwise. The alternative is to sell with tenant in situ.
I also would wait till T leaves. We don’t even do the viewings untill our TT leave. We believe it’s unfair to bother TT’s privacy. I know it would be annoying to me. Of course, we lose some income but we usually part on good terms with our TT.