Buying a house - tenant will not move out, contracts signed, closing date passed

Hi there,

Am totally stressed with a house purchase! We sold our family home about 12 months ago and went house hunting. We are currently renting. After a long search and many bids being beaten, we found a second hand property to buy as our family home and drew down a mortgage, agreed a price and a closing date and both we and the vendor have signed contracts.

On the day the house was due to close (get the keys etc.) about 5 weeks ago, the vendor's sol contacted my sol to inform him that a tenant was refusing to leave. The vendor's sol had assured my sol that the correct termination notice had been served (112 days) in writing and that the tenant was simply saying that they "had nowhere to go" and was "digging their heels in".

We are currently in limbo and the tenant is still there. I have given the mortgage back to the bank and can re-draw it down within 2 months without penalty... then I have to re-apply. My sol has served a notice of completion that is due to run out in about 2 weeks time. The vendor wants to go to the PRTB but I have heard that that could take 9-12 months to resolve itself!!

I heard that we can sue the vendor but have no idea if that is worth it... and it is complicated by the not-leaving- tenant. We really want the house and we are so so frustrated that nobody between the PRTB, the sols, the vendor can come up with a timeline or what is happening next... we just want to buy a house for our family!

Has anyone been through this before or could offer some practical advice?

Thanks!

I feel your pain.

Delays in securing an adjudication from the PRTB are a significant, but rarely reported, cause of the current strains in the housing market. The delays favour the worst kind of tenant behaviour to the detriment of everybody else and ultimately contribute to higher rents (as landlords seek to protect themselves). To make matters worse, I have come across a number of instances where clients have told me that Threshold have actually advised tenants to over-hold.

To be fair the PRTB (who are grossly under-staffed) do try to prioritise over-holding cases but your vendor will still be looking at a matter of months (at least 6 in my experience) before a determination is made. If the tenant really digs in, it can take many more months to secure an eviction order and the execution of same by the sheriff.

I'm afraid if you really want the house, you will have to prepare yourself for a long wait.

Thanks for the reply. Depressing for me somewhat but honest I guess I have contacted the PRTB to see if they will expedite the dispute hearing. As a 3rd party I have limited ability to influence anything with the PRTB but will try... I probably now have a bigger legal bill, mortgage related additional costs, insurance costs, have to re-sign a rental lease for 6-9 months I didn't want.... totally not my fault and all because of someone not leaving. Nobody is able to give me a timeline... the delays by the PRTB possibly promote the behaviour as an over-holding tenant can hang on in there waiting for due process which take many months in reality.