Selling A House With Sitting Tenants in 2024

You don’t have to wait for vacant possession to sell a buy-to-let. It can be beneficial to sell a rental property with sitting tenants. No need to serve a notice, no need to wait for a fixed-term tenancy to end and no need to disrupt your tenant.

Advantages of selling a house with tenants in 2024?

Provide continuity for your tenants

selling a property with a tenant is ideal if you don’t want to upset your current tenant. In most cases, another landlord will buy your property and take over the tenancy agreement.

Avoid an eviction

serving a Section 21 or Section 8 notice can be a long, drawn-out process – and can cost landlords thousands of pounds in legal costs. Selling a tenanted property to Landlordbuyer avoids any kind of eviction.

Keep receiving rent

one of the biggest advantages to selling a property with a tenant is that you can keep receiving the monthly rent until the new landlord completes the purchase. There are no void periods and no loss of income.

Sell with speed

when you sell a tenanted property, you can start relax and we will take care of the rest. You don’t have to wait for a fixed term or notice period to end, or for a successful eviction.

Appeal to genuine buyers

selling a rental property with sitting tenants is a niche exercise but you’ll almost be guaranteed other landlords will be interested. They’ll understand the responsibilities involved and will make an offer fully aware of the proposition.

Keep property in the buy-to-let sector

there are far more tenants searching for a rental property than homes available. Selling a property with a tenant means the dwelling stays in the private rental market and provides much-needed accommodation.

What rights do sitting tenants have when selling a rented property?

The rights a sitting tenant has depends on the type of tenancy in place.

• Tenants with a fixed term Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) can only be served a Section 21 notice after the fixed term ends, unless there is a break clause. Additionally, the tenant is protected from a Section 21 eviction during the first 4 months of the tenancy, unless there is a clause in the contract that allows the landlord to serve an early notice. Tenants on a rolling periodic tenancy need two months’ notice to quit from the landlord.
• Tenants are also protected from eviction if the tenancy has not been administered in line with Government requirements. If the tenant has not had their deposit protected in a deposit protection scheme, has not received the How To Rent guide, has not seen the property’s EPC certificate or does not have a copy of the gas safety certificate, for gas-connected rentals, they can’t be evicted and you could face litigation when trying to evict the tenants which is expensive and time consuming.
• Tenants being served as Section 8 notice need between two weeks’ and two months’ notice, depending on which tenancy terms they have breached.
• Tenants with a ‘contractual’ periodic tenancy benefit from a notice period that is the same as the rental period, if this is more than 2 months. For example, if the tenant pays rent every 3 months, the landlord must give 3 months’ notice.
• Tenants who have an assured tenancy are harder to evict. The landlord must have legal reasons for grounds of possession, such as rent arrears or antisocial behaviour. Even then, a court may have the final say on whether the tenant can be evicted. Assured tenancies may also grant the tenant the right to live in the property for the rest of their life.
• A regulated tenant (also known as a secure tenant, a protected tenant or a ‘rent act’ tenant) can also be extremely difficult to evict as they will usually enjoy the right to live in the property until they die. Regulated tenants may also enjoy a ‘rights of succession’ clause that allows the next of kin to take up the tenancy when they die.