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Want to buy house, but tenants still occupy.

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  • 26-05-2015 9:40am
    #1
    Citroen2cv
    Registered Users Posts: 285 ✭✭


    Hi, I have had my eye on a house in north dublin that is for sale. We havent got to view the house, yet as there are tenants still occupying the house. The EA cant arrange viewings until the property is vacant. From speaking to the EA, the tenants have been given their notice and this period has now expired. They have been looking for alternative accomodation, but I can well believe that affordable houses to rent in dublin are hard to come by.

    It is a relatively modern house, so going from the pics on daft.ie, I have bid on the property, matching the asking price. This may seem a bit crazy without seeing inside it, but I know the area, and have seen other houses nearby.
    The EA also said that the tenants are immigrants who have been housed in the property by an agency.
    Im beginning to think the seller isnt too pushed on selling the house, as Id imagine they could have the house vacant if they really wanted.
    The asking price is also suspiciously less than comparable properties in the area.
    What kind of rights would these tenants have to still occupy the house?


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    #2
    godtabh
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 23,218 Mod ✭✭✭✭godtabh


    Bank wont let you buy until they are gone so could be a very long process both interms of your bank approval and eviction.


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    #3
    Michael D Not Higgins
    Registered Users Posts: 7,223 ✭✭✭Michael D Not Higgins


    They have the right to remain there while a PRTB case is open. If they haven't opened a dispute with the PRTB, they are only still there because the landlord has allowed them to remain. You could be right that the landlord isn't too pushed on the sale. It could be one of the large number of properties that are in distress financially and the bank is forcing a sale.


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    #4
    Ray Palmer
    Registered Users Posts: 8,394 ✭✭✭Ray Palmer


    Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »
    They have the right to remain there while a PRTB case is open. If they haven't opened a dispute with the PRTB, they are only still there because the landlord has allowed them to remain. You could be right that the landlord isn't too pushed on the sale. It could be one of the large number of properties that are in distress financially and the bank is forcing a sale.

    Totally not true. To get a tenant out regardless of a case with PRTB can take well over a year no matter what you do legally.


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    #5
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,301 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    Ray Palmer wrote: »
    Totally not true. To get a tenant out regardless of a case with PRTB can take well over a year no matter what you do legally.
    To add to this; from stories on here, it can take a while even if the tenants stopped paying rent, so the landlord may have no control over when they'll leave.


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    #6
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,285 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    'The tenants have been housed there by an agency'......
    This sentence stands out to me.
    Who are the agency?
    What agreement or arrangement do the tenants have with the agency- and what agreement or arrangement do the agency have with the current owner of the property?

    What are the dynamics of the tenants living in the property- and what is the correct mechanism for ensuring vacant possession?

    If the tenants have been housed by an agency- they may have a tenancy agreement with the agency- rather than the landlord- and the agency may be compelled to house them (but not in a specific property).

    There are too many unknowns here.

    You need to sit down with the estate agent in the first instance and spell out your concerns. You need a definitive date where there will be vacant possession of the property. And you need to make your offer conditional on there being vacant possession by this date.

    You may know houses in the area like the back of your hand- but the tenants could have knocked down a supporting wall- because they liked the idea of open plan living downstairs- or some other such crackpot idea. You simply have no idea. Bidding on a property in the blind like this- is a very very bad idea.

    In any event- and as alluded to by another poster (above)- if you are reliant on a mortgage to purchase the property- the bank will tell you to take a hike as soon as they hear there are sitting tenants.........


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    #7
    Michael D Not Higgins
    Registered Users Posts: 7,223 ✭✭✭Michael D Not Higgins


    Ray Palmer wrote: »
    Totally not true. To get a tenant out regardless of a case with PRTB can take well over a year no matter what you do legally.

    I'm talking about the tenant's rights. If there is an open dispute, they can't be forced to leave. If that's the case then they should walk away from the house.

    Legally they have no right to stay if an eviction has been served and no PRTB case has been opened. That's not to say that it's easy to remove them. As you said it can take a year to legally remove the tenants.


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