Where will I end up

CassieJ That’s an unwarranted slur by the tenancy matters group! Citizens advice advisers have rigorous training by Shelter as part of their learning, none of the advisers can advise until they have under gone comprehensive legal training! I supervise a team of 20 at a time and we obtain consistently excellent quality of advice audit scores. All my advisers run potential advice before me prior to speaking to the client and I am legally trained with over 20 years experience!!

You need to contact Shelter. I am on the tenancy matters UK on Facebook and they never recommend CAB. They say they give incorrect advice and don't enough about housing issues. The Facebook group give excellent advice.

For a landlord to evict you, they need a section 21 which gives you two months rights to move out. This is when you can apply to council.

Quite lightly you will be fine and the new buyer will want you as a tenant. Just make sure you read up on your rights.

I also sold my house and started to rent, it is the worst thing I could have done as there is no real protection in renting as you can be asked to leave at any time.

Don't assume your new landlord will be happy to maintain the status quo. We know people who bought a bungalow with sitting tenants as it was cheap. They eventually got the tenants out and renovated the property to live in themselves. The tenants were rehoused by a housing association. Until you know the intentions of the new owners it would be wise to maybe register with the council or HA. Hopefully you will be able to stay but its wise to take advice.

My advice is accurate as I am a lawyer working for Citizens Advice as you will see if you read my post

We have a couple of properties to let SillyNanny and have had some pretty lousy tenants in the past. The ones we have now are a joy. They sound like you and take it from a landlord, when you get a good tenant their worth their weight in gold so try not to worry.

Who ever buys the property will have an excellent tenant in place with a proven record. I can't imagine why anyone would go to the expense of finding a new tenant for their long term investment, when they already have you.

Hi NewNanny
Your post has given me a bit more hope as a lot of the posts after my one thanking those trying to be helpful were very worrying as they made my situation seem worse than I had feared. Your post has cheered me & made me realise there may be light at the end of the tunnel & not a train but someone like yourself who may buy my home & let me stay here. So thank you for a more positive outlook!

Hi Sillynanny I am a landlord and I have bought a house with a tenant insitu. I bought the house as a long term investment as the buyer of your house will most likely be doing. My tenants had 8 months left on tenancy of fixed term 1 year. The first thing I did was buy them a combined fridge freezer and a microwave as they did not have one. After about five months I had the double grazing replaced. I allowed the tenants to renew their lease for a further year as they are good tenants who look after the property and pay their rent on time. In the second year I replaced the boiler and washing machine. I renewed the tenancy for a further year and I am now in process of laminating whole house and replacing internal doors and I also intend to replace bathroom suite this year. The thing is my tenants told me they were so worried in case I made them move out and wanted to move in myself. This would be very very unlikely as why buy a property with a tenant in unless you wanted to be a landlord? The new owners will probably be delighted they have a good a reliable tenant who wants to stay there long term. They may be better landlords than previous ones. Our tenants tell me they are so happy we are now their landlords as the previous landlord would never allow them anything new and took ages to respond if something needed repair. You may find you are better off. we have only increased rent once in 3 1/2 years and only in line with inflation. Don't always assume the worst scenario. You may be pleasantly surprised.

No point criticising what has already been done but i fear you were wrongly advised as most elderly owning their home would be mortgage/rent free at some stage. Or have downsized and have equity left over. I am 9 years away from mortgage free and just pray i can continue working until it is paid off.
I am sure Op will be fine in the short term but needs to look into how long before new owners can give her notice, hopefully never. That is usually a condition of buying with a sitting tenant.

I agree it will be wise to seek advice but you may be worrying unnecessarily. The fact that the property has a good, reliable, long term tenant who looks after it may be what makes it an attractive purchase for someone simply looking for a hassle-free long-term investment. They may be very happy to leave things as they are.

You might find this article useful. homelet.co.uk/tenants/blog/article/what-is-a-sitting-tenant-and-what-are-your-rights

This paragraph struck me:

"It's good practice to meet your new landlord. Although it is up to them to organise and suggest a meeting, make the effort to be available. Putting a face to a name can benefit both parties in the long run."

Apologies for errors.

SillyNanny321

Firstly, you are only going to get eell meaning but often conflicting views on here.
You need to Google 'Tenant's rights and responsibilities' and 'Landlord's rights and responsibilities.
They are often on the Shelter website but there are government sites too.
They will be FACTS and exactly the same facts that CAB will bring up on their computer screens. Anytbing they can do, you can do.
Next: sitting tenants are only granted certain rights if they were granted the tenancy BEFORE a certain year and you have not been there long enough to have had a 'protected' tenancy.
Landlords can put up the rent on a yearly basis if they so wish but YOU have tbe right to go to a fair rents tribunal if you think the rent being asked is substantially above the average rent for a very similar property in the same area.
Last but not least.
Your landlord must give you at least 2 months notice to quit.
They do not have to give a reason.
You don't say whether your tenancy agreement has any caveats which give you extra rights but ordinarily it's just a straightforward paper whu h should include an inventory and any costs associated with cleaning the property after you leave.
Of course, there is the deposit. If your landlord didn't give you the name of the scheme into which your deposit was deposited, that gives you some leverage as (s)he cannot evict you under the 2 month rule, besides which (s)he can be ordered by the courts to pay you the deposit PLUS up to 3x that amount.
It's all spelled out online but you don't have as many rights as some people may think you have.
Good luck.

Few grammatical errors in my previous post I’m afraid I should have checked ....scuse I

Agree largely with jenpax in the suggestion that you apply to your local council for social housing for older people - many local authorities have tasteful developments for older people, and there are also many private housing trusts that have the same thing - in all honesty, you need to recognise that as a sitting tenant you do have some rights but if the landlord legitimately increases the rent you may not be able to afford it and a rent rebate may not cover the difference. You need a contingency plan and that would be a development of the kind mentioned. Please seek legal advice and do not listen to friends/family.

I lived in a rented house for 10 years, and as it was an investment for the owners they never put my rent up over the entire time. I was, they said, the perfect tenant as I looked after the house and the garden as if it was my own, I rarely called them out to do repairs, and I redecorated it myself (or my son did) . They would rather have me at my low rent than take the chance on someone what who might pay more rent but could just as easily trash the place and cost them thousands in repairs. I don’t think you need worry, you sound like you have the estate agent on your side who will speak up for you and although in the end it IS a business transaction that does count for something. Keep your fingers crossed - there are nice people out there! The owners of my house were lovely x

Sorry to say but it is highly unlikely that you are a sitting tenant these types of tenant were largely abolished after 1988.much more likely is that you are either a fixed term tenant under assured shorthold provision or a periodic tenant under the same provision? either way your rights are fairly minimal your landlord could serve a section 21 notice requiring you to leave and there is no defence against a properly served section 21. As you say the new agents can also increase your rent, you may be entitled to some Housing Benefit if this happens so I would strongly advise a trip to Citizens Advice to check out the benefit situation either way.
Best advice I can give you is to apply now for council or social housing for older people. In the event that your landlord does serve notice you are in a priority group for housing as a pensioner.
If you need to make big decisions concerning finances or housing in future I would suggest you approach a professional like Age UK or Citizens Advice! As you say the advice given to you years ago has proved to be very poor?

I don't know your financial situation, but the Ipswich Building Society will lend to over 65s and are one of the only ones to take 100% of your pension when calculating income for a loan.

Thanks so much to you all for your help. I am going to the CAB as soon as possible to see where I stand. My son had tried to get finance to buy my home but it is too much on top of his mortgage. I am too old now to buy unless I had cash which unforunately I do not.
I have spoken to the Agents again this morning & they will carefully vet any prospective buyers as the property is being marketed as Investement with sitting tenant. Will keep all you nice helpful people up to date as I hear what will happen. Thanks again!

If you are a sitting tenant you are safe no matter who owns the house. Try not to worry but take your paperwork to the CAB to check your status & give peace of mind.

I wouldn't worry. The price sold will reflect that you will live in the house until you die. (20 years maybe less...maybe more) as a long term investment. The good thing for the prospective buyer is that you will keep it in good order too. It will be fine. Enjoy your house, we are moving more and more into a rental society like in Europe.

I would make an appointment with the CAB to clarify exactly where you stand as a tenant. Try not to let imagined fears spoil everything for you - easier said than done, but our worst fears rarely happen. You sound right now as if you wish you had never sold, but you have had the opportunity, because you are renting, of moving about more easily to find the home you really like. At times like this all the worst factors rise to the surface but you do have positives here too - good luck.

I think in your position I'd seek advice from the CAB, if your worst fears are proven and you must move would you qualify for a Housing Association property which would give you security of tenure? Please don't despair yet. You may well be a welcome tenant for the new owner but in the meantine seek informed advice for worst case scenario. Wishing you well, do let us know how you get on.

I can only suggest that you ask the owner about remaining as a sitting tenant when the house is sold. Good luck !

Oh boy with friends like that... The problem with renting as we get older is the rents go up and our pensions don't so much. It was ok in the old days of protected tenancies and controlled rents but these days...

I would consult a solicitor to find out what rihts you have, so sorry you find yourself in this situation,
Maybe as suggested you could see about buying the house, but realise it might not be an option at your age,
I dont know the rules etc on buying when older,unless it was a cash buy of course which i know is unlikely

So sorry to hear about your situation but please remember it may never happen. Take each day as it comes and sign a long lease / agreement if you can.