UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi do hope one of you knowledgeable folk may be able to help this newbie.
I am in the process of buying a farmhouse which is presently 2 cottages, one un habitable, the other cottage has a tenant no written contract. They have been resident for 25 yr's paying £50 per wk. And  The original landlord is now dead. I need to live in the whole of the house,after renovation. Their half is in desperate need of refurbishment too, how do I go about humanly evicting them. So far I've not managed to gain admittance to their cottage to talk about this .. Help would be very appreciated

Quote from: LizJ on August 18, 2018, 01:13:25 PM
They have been resident for 25 yr's paying £50 per wk.
...
how do I go about humanly evicting them

You can't. Even if you have the years right, that's at best is an non-shorthold assured tenancy. Unless they default on their rent, breach the tenancy terms etc. you're not going to get possession. And if you get the year wrong, and it's actually pre-1989, or it's an inherited regulated tenancy from that time, then it's definitely not happening.

If you're buying this place because it's cheap, there's a reason for that.

Thank you for that

might you be able to upwardly review the rent?
At the very least if you have to have a tenant, it makes sense for them to pay the market rate. It might also make them think about whether they want to remain.
If you do this, then make sure you give them appropriate notice using the correct documentation.
Good luck

Quote from: madferret on August 20, 2018, 01:09:08 PM
might you be able to upwardly review the rent?
At the very least if you have to have a tenant, it makes sense for them to pay the market rate. It might also make them think about whether they want to remain.
If you do this, then make sure you give them appropriate notice using the correct documentation.
Good luck

If it's a regulated tenancy then you can't just increase the rent to market value. 

Are you really sure you want to buy this property?