Sitting Tenants: How to Sell Your House With Sitting Tenants

Sitting tenants always pose a problem for landlords who want to sell their property. Houses are often subject to dramatically lowered values and estimations due to the occupiers. And even with the lowered property values, the legal procedures for selling a house with regulated tenants is a veritable minefield - filled with more twists and turns than an episode of Lost.

If you are thinking of selling a property occupied by sitting tenants, then it is worth first consulting a solicitor on the legal implications of eviction. You may find that you do not even have grounds to evict the tenants, which can frustrate the situation even further.

Sitting tenants come under regulated tenancies, and most of these originate sometime before the 15th January 1989 under the Rent Act of 1977.

A regulated tenant has certain rights which cannot be violated according to the rent act mentioned above. These are related to their tenure and rent rates, and are a big factor in eviction and selling. According to a regulated tenancy:

Landlords cannot evict tenants unless a possession order is obtained from the courts. These are granted under special circumstances laid out under the Rent Act 1977.Tenancies can be, and usually are, inherited. This prolongs the arrangement.Rent rates must be registered. They then remain the same until the rent officer reviews the property and decides it needs a change.Landlords and tenants both have the right to apply to the rent officer for rent changes.Even if the rent is not registered, landlords may only increase rates under certain circumstances.Landlords must ensure repairs and faults in the property are taken care of.Tenants can receive housing benefit.Local authorities may give grants to either the landlord or tenant for repairs.

On top of these, landlords usually have to tell their sitting tenants that they plan to sell the property. They are then legally required to allow the tenant to purchase the house. There is little demand in the property market for houses with sitting tenants occupying them, which can make securing a sale almost impossible.

Another option is evicting the tenant before putting the property on the market. As mentioned above, conditions for eviction are hard, not to mention costly, to get. In many cases a landlord will offer cash compensation as an incentive to free up the house. If a tenant is smart he will be asking for anything in a five figure range before even considering relocation.

The most profitable and simple solution to selling a property with sitting tenants present is finding a good property buyer who can make the sale as easy as possible. The Property Buyers, for instance, are knowledgeable in selling homes with sitting tenants. They can usually facilitate a quick and easy sale with as little problems as possible. There are even buyers who specifically look for sitting tenant properties.

Even though selling a property tied up by sitting tenants can be hard, it is worth looking closer at what options best suit you and your situation.

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