Renting house

strangel00p

Hello,
I’m renting my house to a tenant for a couple of years but I would like to rent it to someone else. The existing tenant started to think that the house was his and could do what he wanted with it. He did pay his rent on time but it’s time for a fresh start.


Legally, how long do i need to keep the house empty before I can start renting again to a new tenant?

aido79

strangel00p wrote: »

Hello,
I’m renting my house to a tenant for a couple of years but I would like to rent it to someone else. The existing tenant started to think that the house was his and could do what he wanted with it. He did pay his rent on time but it’s time for a fresh start.


Legally, how long do i need to keep the house empty before I can start renting again to a new tenant?

It's really not that simple. You would need a valid reason to evict the current tenant unless they are willing to leave by their own accord. The current tenant will be covered by part 4 tenancy rights so can legally stay for up to 6 years under new rules regardless of any lease that may be in place.

strangel00p

Thank you aido79. Another 6 years with this tenant...

dudara

What has he done to the house? Depending on the lease you have in place, he may have breached his lease terms and can therefore be asked to leave.

Also, how long has he been there?

But as was said before, he has Part IV rights now, and can only be asked to leave for a very specific set of reasons, or because it’s coming up to the end of the Part IV period. If you ask him to leave, it needs to be for the right reasons.

Peatys

Can you still get tenants out if you or a family member are moving in?

Mongfinder General

Peatys wrote: »

Can you still get tenants out if you or a family member are moving in?

Yes but I suspect it won’t be long before this rule changes. I had a similar problem even while living there and charging about half the market rate as a favour. Pox bottles took the piss. It was easier to get them out because they were only renting a room

Pkiernan

aido79 wrote: »

It's really not that simple. You would need a valid reason to evict the current tenant unless they are willing to leave by their own accord. The current tenant will be covered by part 4 tenancy rights so can legally stay for up to 6 years under new rules regardless of any lease that may be in place.

Not for Tenancies that started before the rule change.

If the tenant has been there for the last 2.5 years, there's only 1.5 years left on their Part 4.

worded

I thought there was x weeks of notice required per year stayed of a part 4 tenancy. X goes up per year by a few weeks but the tenancy can still be ended by the LL during this 6 years. Is it not a 4 year cycle also ? Did that change ?

LotharIngum

Its basically their house and not yours for 6 years.
And if the current bill goes through then its theirs forever.
I know. You are now wondering why you ever let it in the first place. Welcome to owning rental property.

Pkiernan

LotharIngum wrote: »

Its basically their house and not yours for 6 years.
And if the current bill goes through then its theirs forever.
I know. You are now wondering why you ever let it in the first place. Welcome to owning rental property.

Not for Tenancies already in existence before the law changed. They expire 4 years after initial inception.
Further Part 4s go for 6 years.

the_syco

strangel00p wrote: »

The existing tenant started to think that the house was his and could do what he wanted with it.

Give examples of what you mean by this, and people here may be able to advise you what to look for in your lease, to see if said tenant is breaking their lease.

dennyk

Here are the legitimate grounds for a landlord to terminate a Part 4 tenancy. Basically, you can only end the tenancy if you are selling the property, moving yourself or a family member into the property, if you are making a "substantial refurbishment" of the property which requires vacant possession to carry out (see sections 6 and 7 of this document for details), or if the tenant has breached the terms of their lease.

You can also end the tenancy at the end of the current Part 4 period (which lasts four years from the date the tenancy began if it started before December 24th 2016, or six years if it started after that date). Refer to the following documentation:

If a landlord wishes to stop a Further Part 4 tenancy coming into existence they may serve a notice during the Part 4 tenancy with the notice period given to the tenant expiring on or after the end of the tenancy. A notice served in this way should provide a reason for termination but the reason does not need to be one of the grounds set out below. To ensure the notice is valid it is best practice for the notice period given to end during the first six months of the Further Part 4 tenancy.

If you do choose to end the tenancy at the end of the Part 4 period or for one of the allowable grounds during the Part 4 period, make very certain you research the notice period and notice format requirements and follow them to the letter, otherwise the tenant will have grounds to challenge the notice and this will significantly delay the process of ending their tenancy.

Note that in some of the cases (e.g. refurbishment), you must offer the property to the original tenant first if it becomes available to let again within six months. If the property is in an RPZ, keep in mind that the RPZ limit on rent increases still applies even with a new tenant, as well; you can still only raise your asking rent by the allowable amount (which depends on when you last set or reviewed the rent).

The_Conductor

What is the nature of the changes the tenant made to the property?
It may be the case that he/she has breached their tenancy by virtue of these changes.