Hi. I am an overseas landlord and the tenancy agreement ends on 31st July. I am returning from abroad and want to move back into my house on 1st August or - preferably - in July. My tenants will have lived there 5 years and we have a good relationship. I am a little overwhelmed with all the information & new changes. Do I simply inform them that I will not be renewing their tenancy or should I do something else.
You need to speak to an eviction specialist. Take their advice, let them deal with it.
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Check what notice they would have to give under the Tenancy agreement or what else it says about how the tenancy agreement can be ended.
There are different ways to end the tenancy and for them to leave which obviously will be a big disruption for your tenants who will need to find a new place in what is a competitive market
A-Before 1 may you can still serve a valid s21 exactly as you would have done before. It may be sensible to do this
B-the tenants can give you notice
C-you and they can jointly agree to surrender the tenancy and sign the necessary document that says so
D -from 1st May onwards you can use the new process which is to serve them on a ground that you plan to live in the place, potentially providing evidence to a judge
Although you have good relationships with your tenants, and most tenancies don’t end via having to go to court to gain possession it’s always possible. Most tenants I think don’t want to be evicted as they may think it could go on a record somewhere it could make it harder to find a new place and won’t help them get a good ref from you. But if you just had an informal agreement with them that they would leave by say end June, what happens on 29 may if they hadn’t found something? A more secure legal agreement will be better. So talk to an expert. Once you know your options and the potential timescales /costs for each you can talk to them and give them as long as you can to help them find a new place.
Pps check if you have LL insurance that includes legal advice on eviction/the costs of it, in case you do have to go down that route
Good luck
From your question, I am not sure you will have complied with all the pre-requisites for a s21 notice, in which case your only option would be a s8 notice under ground 1, (wishing to move back in to a former home). However, you may not be able to use that if you didnt give the tenant a formal notice that this might happen before the tenancy began.
Your best bet may be negotiation and hoping they will move out. However, after 1 May this will also be illegal. if the tenant struggles to find anywhere or just refuses to leave, you may be scuppered.
I agree with the others that you will probably need specialist legal help, but you should also be prepared for the possibility of not recovering your property any time soon.
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what you mean is that you’d like the tenancy to end on that date. The only date you can reasonably expect to move into your property will be the day after the tenant actually leaves. You cannot predict when that will be at this stage.
Get yourself a specialist as soon as you can.
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Thank you so much for your lengthy response. Following advice and getting a solicitor.
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