Buying property with tenants. transfer tenant agreements?

[dproperties03]

Hi,
First post here but I am sure I will be spending a lot of time as I bought my first property to let out recently in England.
I am purchasing a property that has tenants in it and would like to know what is the process to transfer the tenant agreement to myself.

Do I need to just make a new one and get the contact info for the seller and get them to agree to it etc etc ?
or does the current agreement transfer to me upon sale ?
I believe it is managed by an agency at the moment but I would like to manage it myself.

I have read about transferring the deposit scheme info over.

in the sale one term is for me to be able to give the tenant 2 months notice to end the tenancy (plan is to let them stay until renovation works will begin.

Thanks
Chris

[Hippogriff]

You step into the shoes of the current Landlord. Check out deposit protection. You can't make a Tenant sign a new agreement. You must formally notify the Tenants you are now their Landlord. Your hopes about them leaving only when you start work may be just that.

[jo-maxi]

Hi,
I'm no expert but best advice is to get a solicitor who understands buy to let to carry out the conveyancing. This will make a huge difference. I went with a solicitor who i had used for a standard remortgage before - but when it came to things like tenancy agreements, transfer of deposit and apportionment of rent on completion date she obviously was not experienced in these matters and it felt like hard work! Things to consider: Lender (if you have one) will probably want evidence of tenancy agreement between you and occupants. Be sure to give prescribed info, how to rent etc and check inventory carefully. Find out if deposit was protected in good time, and where - some schemes allow transfer from one ac to another providing all parties agree, some insist on refunding it and then protecting it again... Not sure i understand your 2 months to quit term fully as your new tenancy agreement will likely include fixed term of 6 or 12 months, and if you want it empty sooner it would be far simpler to insist on buying it with vacant possession. Hope that's some help, good luck.

[andybenw]

I'm confused.

First sentence you have bought. Second sentence you are still purchasing.

If still purchasing I suggest holding off exchange/completion until you are familiar with the legalities as there are plenty of possible pitfalls.

Edit Jo maxis advice re a decent solicitor sounds logical.

[mariner]

andybenw,

Possibly OP means he successfully bid for the property and awaiting exchange of Contracts
Yet again we appear to have a newbie BTL Landlord with no experience of English LL&T Law .

OP until you serve s48, no rent is due to you.
Join NLA/RLA for 12 months to benefit ftom Members' free Distance Learning Modules at least!

[jpkeates]

Asking these questions after deciding to become a landlord isn't a great start.

When was the property built and could the tenant or one of their parents have been a tenant in the 1990s?
Is the tenant on the tenancy agreement a single person, a number of people or a company?

[theartfullodger]

Hi,
First post here but I am sure I will be spending a lot of time as I bought my first property to let out recently in England.
I am purchasing a property that has tenants in it and would like to know what is the process to transfer the tenant agreement to myself. ......s

Just in case... depending on when tenants 1st moved in they might not be AST tenants but on an AT or even a "rent act" tenancy - if moved in before 27 February 1997 or 15 January 1989 respectively
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...ing_agreements

Even if they've signed a shiny new AST...

When does the tenant say they 1st moved in??

When you buy the tenancy transfers to you: You need to serve notices on them: They do not have to agree to any changes or any new tenancy.

[dproperties03]

Hey everyone thanks for all the valuable information. my first post was vague but will take everything I have seen on board.

hippogriff- thanks for the basic info I needed

jomaxi - yes I have gone with a solicitor with a lot of experience in these areas

andy - as mariner said yes successful bid, contracts exchanged tbc

mariner - will join this group and get to work reading the resources you have pointed out any other resources always valuable
and yes a newbie

jpkeates- probably not but I am comfortable given the work done by my solicitor before the bid
tenant contract expires in 2 months anyway , tenant has been there 3 years not a long time tenant

artfulllodger - see above

thanks all

[theartfullodger]

So you still haven't served those notices then?? Or asked the tenants that simple 1-line question - "When did you 1st move in, please?" (which you really should do before exchange - the answer may dramatically affect the value of the place). Sigh!

A tenant's contract expires... yes... but if he remains but 1 second beyond the end it automatically becomes a "periodic" tenancy rolling on, month-by-month (depending on rent-payment frequency). A landlord cannot prevent this happening.

Done ANY training as a landlord?? (I hadn't when I started: It cost me lots in time, aggravation & money....)