I am a landlord selling my house, where tenants have lived since September 2024. Notice was served in April for 15 July (3 months) and the tenants have requested to stay beyond the S21 notice period but have not yet provided a move out date. I have agreed to the arrangement with no renewal of contract or extension to the tenancy, which seems vague at best in terms of contractual protection on both sides.
My request was that the tenants move out as soon as possible, name that date and continue to pay rent for the additional period. They are however seeking clarity on their rights and deposit position. I have explained that the deposit will be protected by a third party until they actually move out, and a condition report will list any damages and deductions at that stage.
Since sales can be unpredictable, I cannot really do more than they need to vacate by the agreed sale date once that is decided.
Does anyone have experience of such a situation? I am aware that a court eviction after 31 July will not be possible, but the tenants are likely to stay until August or later.
You canât apply for possession beyond 31 July so you should do that in case (it takes an average 8 months to evict from application) otherwise the s21 lapses. If you let that happen youâll need to use the s8 grounds instead (4 months notice then the time through the courts).
Basically till they move out or you get possession the tenancy continues exactly as before - they have the same obligations to pay rent you have same obligation to do any repairs etc. You can claim back from them cost of going through the courts, bailliffs
Although you are being generous to the tenants, most buyers will want to buy with vacant possession so you are relying on tenants to leave once you have a date and if they dont you have a problem and your sale would then fall through. You are also relying on them providing access for viewings.
They certainly can with the added issue of tenants in the property. Thereâs no guarantee at all that even if you do agree a date to exchange contracts that the Ts will be gone by then. This is likely to prevent anyone who wants vacant possession even making an offer.
Have you not considered deferring the sale until after the bailiffs have been?
Any âextensionsâ would have been rendered null and void anyway under the RRA from 1st May. If you donât want it vague then agree a deed of surrender and get it drafted by a solicitor. Until then, the eviction process must continue until they either choose to go or are forced to. As David points out, that could take the best part of a year.
As others have said, if you donât âenforceâ the section 21 by the end of July, then it lapses anyway. Then youâll have to start all over again with 4 months notice under a Section 8 for âsellingâ. You will haver to give these 4 months, and even then they wont need to leave, until you get a court order, so this could well stall any sale process.
Despite your intentionsâŚ
Their contract continues. It doesnât need extending to still be running.
In my view, you need to press on with the S21 eviction. If they move out in the meantime, then thats all good.
Iâm not convinced by the option of a Deed of surrender, as I thought they could only be signed on the day of move-out, but I am no expert on this.
Thanks for the input. I know that the contract continues, but the tenants expect some additional level of contractual certainty that doesnât appear to exist. I will refer them to the standard guidance on Shelter etc.
We expect a fairly slow sale but will press ahead to remove the tenants as soon as possible and certainly encourage them to do more searching for properties. They are respectable working people who have been fussy over the next move.
I should advise them that you would have to apply to the courts for eviction by the end of July if they havent left, (probably a couple of weeks before for safety) and that this doesnt tend to look good for them when applying for a new property.
@Oliver34 but why would they expect greater rights than they already have, simply because you have given them a s21 and are now proceeding with the next eviction steps?
For sure they will be concerned that they could be required to move at short notice when the eviction process goes through.
I guess you can give them some sort of assurance that you will keep them informed of timescales for the eviction process and for a sale when you have info on either. If you want, you could indicate that you will not try to recoup the court costs (providing they do not oppose the court process and that you donât have to pay for bailiffs) in return for them being reasonable and providing access for viewings, and for a surveyor, for example. You could do an inspection visit and based on that give an indication on whether you expect to want to claim anything against the deposit based on current condition and them continuing to pay rent up to when they leave. And agree to keep them informed of timescales say weekly once you have accepted an offer.
You can say you will do your best to agree sale dates which fit with their moving plans but on average it takes X weeks from offer to exchange of contract with a buyer (by when they would need to move out), and if the move out date needs to be part way through a month then you legally have to return the rent for any period theyve paid for after they move out.
SoâŚpromise to be reasonable. Put it all in writing too if they like.
But I doubt any of it will be legally binding just like them presumably agreeing to move out when you have a sale agreed and close to exchange isnât, itâs all a matter of goodwill and trust because you and they have a good working relationship.