Loads of landlords
Question
My landlord has sold the house I live in to another landlord who is now putting it up for sale. It's all a bit confusing because I also know he's found a buyer who doesn't want to rent the house out. I thought someone needed to serve me some notice in order to ask me to leave. I haven't been given any notice yet and I don't know what my rights are or how long I can stay here. What is our position?
Answer
As your landlord lives elsewhere it's likely that you'd be assured shorthold tenants. If you think you have a different type of tenancy you'll need to seek further advice.
If your landlord wants to end your tenancy he needs to follow the correct procedure. If you have an initial fixed-term tenancy (for example, for six or 12 months) your landlord can only evict you during that time if they can prove to a court that you had done something wrong, such as not paying the rent or willfully damaging the property. Once that initial period is over your landlord can evict you without having to prove any reason at all.
Your landlord would still have to give you proper written notice (two months) and go to court to get a court order. But they wouldn't have to give the court a reason for wanting to evict you and, as long as they had followed the correct procedure, the court would have no choice but to grant them possession of the property. This is known as the 'section 21 notice procedure' (or the assured shorthold procedure).
If your tenancy has not been ended correctly by either you or your landlord when the house is sold, the new owner will become your landlord. You would still have all the same rights as you have now. This means that the new owner would be responsible for taking action to evict you.
If you paid a deposit when you moved in, it may be a good idea to ask both your new and original landlord who will be responsible for returning your deposit once your tenancy has ended.
You may find it useful, as the situation progresses, to get further advice from your local Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) or from an advisor at Shelter.
Updated: 19/09/2008
Question answered by Shelter
