Short term tenancy until property sold?

Hi Leah,

Airbnb sounds ideal to me and avoids the issue of defacto tenancy if it is the renter’s main residence.

I believe you can use the property for any planning use for up to 90 days in a year, so a short stay let won’t be a problem AirBnB style. The person must not be referred to as a tenant but as a guest. Such a guest may stay for 89 days and must then checkout for a day before checking back in if this is going to take longer than 3 months. Otherwise it becomes a tenancy and regardless of what paperwork you might or might not have, by allowing someone to stay more than 3 months will have created a tenancy. I think.

There are no short term tenancies other than a holiday let or B&B that wouldn’t see you subject to residential landlord tenant relations and “eviction “ requirements.
Would look at B&B or weekly holiday lets.

tbh – unless you are desperate, leave empty.

In current climate you may be surpised by possible purchasers willing to buy from you as quickly as they can. Fear of missing out/lack of demand may mean you have people fighting over your property and may pay more to secure it asap.

Re “AirBnB” and holiday lets, check that such are not contrary to any lease or current lending restriction, you might well “get away with it” but do you want the hassle?

Having a tenant in place will complicate the sale and could put many people off. I would get the place into a pristine condition and leave it empty to get the best price. Scheduling viewings will be a doodle just leave the keys with the agent. Don’t rely on any assurances from a tenant that they will leave when you ask them. You could get tied up in a very messy repossession claim that will kill off any sale. As other correspondents have pointed out property is selling fast so you would not have an empty place on your hands for long

If you were to let the property, if it is desirable and in demand, and if you find someone keen to buy, IF they are prepared to wait, you can exchange contracts with a long-stop completion once vacant possession is obtained. You will need savvy purchasers and a sensible solicitor and it is not without its pitfalls/risk.

If you or a purchaser don’t have an appetite for that risk, keep it simple and leave the property empty so you can sell or do your homework re AirBnB lets. As others have said, getting into a tenancy could be a recipe for disaster.

“tbh – unless you are desperate, leave empty.”

That’s the view I took. Three story Victorian terrace, three flats. Investor buyer just waiting for things to progress. Apparently takes ages these days, or so I’m assured by my agent.

I politely asked buyer to get on with it, and he said put tenants in if I can, and he’ll take them on. We’ve found two so far, and have of course told them there’ll be a new landlord shortly with the section 48 form to notify them. In the meantime I’m no longer shelling out about £400 in C Tax, so there’s no longer any urgency from that standpoint as it’s profitable again.

Short let – in order to achieve this it cannot be their main residence (no defined period but benefits or registration with GP imply main residence).
To achieve this, the best option is serviced accommodation (must provide some services)
Alternative is tenancy for contractor(s), or similar, who are working away from home and need a base for their working week. As they will be returning to their main residence, which will be evidenced in referencing

Make sure you have the right insurance in place whatever you chose to do. I’m no expert but Landlord Insurance won’t cover AirBnB guests. Same with your mortgage stipulations. We have sold two of our properties, just one to go. But one problem we did find with the Landlord insurance was that after the tenant had left, the insurance company would only insure the ’empty’ property for 46 days which was too short a period to get the sale through. We had to go to a broker for empty home insurance which was £65 pcm as opposed to £15pcm landlord insurance,