ok so from what i can gather the basic gist is,,,,,they buy it,,,, it's their choice but they buy it with tennants then have to make us move out?,,,,,,,,,see i dont want to have them make us move out, i just want adequate notice that we have to move out and so far we haven't had it, as i said we were.nt even told about the sale or the wanna be buyers that are coming round, all i wnt is a nice house with enough room for me the wife n our 5 kids, i dont cliam any benfits, so thats out the window, i moved in here on good faith as did the landlord that let us move in, i've never missed a payment on the rent and we have even done repairs that would normally be upto the landlord to do, i have had a few beers now and feel a rant coming on so will leave it at that lol
Ricoh, lots of well-intentioned but sadly misguided advice being given here mate....just take on board what Paul has said, because he works in housing and knows what he's talking about.
I have a lot of experience of the law in this area for reasons I won't bore you with, and it is recent and sharp-end, but even I wouldn't presume to advise you, just tell you what I know and let you draw your own conclusions.
There are only a few certain things here:
1. He has advertised the property as empty - that means he will be giving you notice at some stage, but he doesn't need to until he has a buyer (at that point he has what, at least 2-3 months to sort things out?). That means buyers will be expecting vacant possession.
2. When he does give notice, you are bound to comply sooner or later (but only a bit later) . As Paul says, there are some very specific circumstances where a judge might extend the 28-day notice period a bit, but from what little we know of your circumstances that probably won't help much even if you could achieve it (which is doubtful because its normally only if there is an
urgent, pressing matter with known imminent dates, like school exams)
3. It sounds like you rent, quite happily, in the private sector so I guess all the posts about social housing/council/Shelter are irrelevant?
4. Tenancy agreement or not, you are
bound to allow viewers BUT, equally he is obliged to give you reasonable notice ... not sure what that would be in law, but 48 hours is probably about right.
My suggestion would be firstly to clear the air by talking to the landlord. First to confirm his intentions (but they are clear, unless he happens to find an investment buyer who wants a sitting tenant, but then thats not how he's advertising it so why would one come along...especially since it usually lowers the valuation).
Secondly, to agree terms regarding notice for viewings, when you are likely to receive notice to quit, what that period will be, what references he will provide
in writing before that point etc...
I think unless he is a fekwit he is sure to co-operate for two reasons:
1. You could make a sale difficult by being a PITA with viewers and keeping the house a mess.
2. Your presence at the time of any mortgage valuation could potentially be seriously detrimental to that valuation and thus any sale.
My personal advice, since you seem to be a happy private sector renter, would just be to get on with it and find yourself another rental and give notice when you are ready. Yes you could fanny about and make life difficult and stretch things out a bit potentially, but there is nothing you can do to stave off whats going to happen, plus you need a reference from this bloke for the next one, so stay calm, make a plan and start packing stuff you don't need. It may be a while before he finds a buyer, but you never know.
Much better to leave on your terms and take the right amount of time to find a place that fits the bill, rather than scrabble around at the last minute and end up in a shithole......and get that reference off him pronto. And if he is holding any deposit, make sure you agree what, if anything, he plans to withhold and why, as you may want to address decorating issues for example. Alternatively you could stop paying rent but that f*cks your reference doesn't it.
That and Pauls input is all you need (with the greatest respect to my friends on here :thumb2).
