Repossessing UK home whilst tenants have an assured tenancy

[arrumac]

My young niece died suddenly in January from meningitis, we went home for 3 weeks to be with family and help arrange the funeral etc. After a few weeks reflection we have now decided that it is best to return home as some members of my family are not coping well. The only major snag is that we have tenants in our house, they had an initial 6 month lease and then we agreed to a further 2 years, they are 8 months into the 2 years.

 

We asked our agent to put our reasons for returning home to our tenants along with an offer of their last months rent free (925 GBP) along with a preferred repossession date of 1st June, although we would be flexible and obviously our sincere apologies for asking. The reply was a 'maybe' if we covered their entire moving expenses, and only then if and when they found suitable alternative accommodation. 3 bed houses in Bournemouth are not cheap and easy to come by.

 

My question is, does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with repossessing a home using section 8 of the housing act? i.e. removing sitting tenants on an assured tenancy. We would be looking for a judge to look favorably on our case given our unexpected return and subsequent need to return to our house.

 

Finally the agent does seem to be self serving, obviously he is going to miss out on over 1000 GBP fees and suspect some details of our reasons have not been conveyed. As there has been quite a lot of to'ing and fro'ing we have asked him to summarise our request in writing for us to review and then for send to the tenants.

[fourcorners]

Probably not an ideal situation, but it may actually be easier to rent somewhere else yourself when you return? That is what we have considered doing when we return rather than turf our tenants out. You'd have to weigh up the pros and cons but it sounds like a lot of effort and hassle and it might just be more straight forward to rent another house for 12 months before moving into your own.

[rammygirl]

When we returned to Australia in Feb we decided to rent rather than turf our tenants out of our house here. Their rent pays towards our rent so though not cost neutral as we have rented in a more expensive suburb nearer the city a good solution. It just seemed fairer really.

 

Also allows us to try another area for a while and be near to the city for a change.

 

Are you planning on returning for good? As you say your circumstances are different but you do need to think long term.

[Phil & Vikki]

It sounds like a very depressing situation that has forced you to move back and for that we are sorry and hope that things start to get better soon. Being away from family members after the loss of a loved one can put great emotional strain on the people in Australia, who just want to be there for their family back in the UK.

 

 

I must agree with the other post here, would it not be best to let your tenants see out their term and then move in? If you can rent something close to the area where you want to live, that may be the best option. It will really take a long time and a lot or heartache to get them out, not to mention cost. Could you not stay with family for a few months to get your feet back on the ground? It will take a few months for your stuff to be shipped over, if you are bringing things back.

 

 

You said that you would be hoping for a judge to look favorably on your situation, but what if they look favorably on your tenants? If they have not done any damage, paid on time and been the 'ideal tenants' the judge cool look on it that they are the victims here and not order them out. Have they got kids too? If they have, that would put a twist in it as the judge will not order them out on to the street with young kids.

 

There are two sides to this and it is always good to look at both. On the one hand you were happy to let the tenants sign for another two years and give you the stability you may of wanted. However, now your situation has changed and wants to end this, if the tenant has not done anything wrong until now you may have a lot of trouble getting them out, as the situation change is not of their making.

 

 

On the other hand your tenants also signed for a longer period and were happy for the security this brought them. Now to be told you want it back through no fault of theirs, they are going to try and put road blocks up. If you were in their situation would you move out as easy as you want your tenants to?

If you do try to kick them out the relationship is going to go downhill and they may not be as careful in your house as what you would like. They could say why we should care if our landlord does not about us. That is a situation you really do not want to be in as they could do a lot of damage to your property.

 

The word ‘fair’ has been used in this post and for good reason. As landlords we always want the tenant to be fair with our property, but on the other hand as landlords we should be fair to the tenants too. If they are willing to move out if they can find something else, you could assist them in their search and make it look like you are being fair. Acts such as this, a judge would hopefully look good on.

[blossom]

I would say your tennents are asking for a fair compromise. They wouldn't have these moving costs had you not gone back on the lease, and as you point out, finding a rental isn't that easy. I certainly wouldn't agree to a set date without having somewhere else lined up.

[jac2011]

I think whilst you are going through a difficult situation you are forgetting to bear in mind the potential turmoil to the tenants of moving properties. I know myself when I look into renting I would like the reassurance of it being long term as moving impacts other aspects of your life such as a month or more of packing, living in boxes, time off work, reducing holiday allowance at work. I would be extremely upset if you were my landlord and expecting me to move due to you deciding to return. If they have children then I am sure the location to schools will be important or distance to work. Its a lot more than just finding a suitable tenancy.

[blobby1000]

Sorry to hear your very sad story.

 

You can get them out. And you don't need to pay them any compensation. But you are right in that you will need to take them to court if they do not go voluntarily.

 

We have not done this but we did enquire about it. Your reasons are perfectly reasonable, its your house and any judge would rule in your favour.

 

Let them find another home, you dont have to, you have one!

 

(PS in the end we decided not to persue our action due to feeling guilty. When we got home finally we found our tenants had wrecked the house and the agents had only taken £15 off theire deposit....its cost us around £3k to put back together, then the agents went bust!)

[Petals]

Sorry in my opinion these are the breaks if you rent out property. People take a lease because they want tenure and make a home, their home. It may be in a school catchment and if they do have children this is very distressing. Tenants are not comodities, they are people and have rights. If you were in Aus and they were to go to Court and prove that they could not find a house similar where they are and give their reasons I believe they would win the case. I know someone who did this when they wanted to get the hose back from them. They got to finish their lease.

 

If you did want them to go early I think its fair to ask you to cough up the costs of moving, after all they are not your relatives and they are not your friends. They may not have the money for such a move at present.

 

I think renting yourselves and sitting out the lease is a better option.