No Vacant Possesion

L

ludermor

Registered User
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I have just come accross a house for sale which state 'no vacant possesion' and im trying to understand what this means! There is currently an elderly lady living there who i understand is living rent free. There is no rent relief being claimed on the property.
My main question would be if i was to buy this house would i be able to claim rent relief? I wouldnt be looking for rent off the lady ( i assume this would be part of the sale?) so if the rent relief would be the only source of income on the property unless im missing something.
 
what that means :

Vacant possession
Empty. On completion of a sale a seller is obliged to deliver the property with vacant possession which means clear of occupants and of objects which are not included in the sale. The same applies at the end of a tenancy.

that's the legal definition. i.e. looks like you'll get somebody with it?
 

Yes. No vacant possesion in this case though means the lady might have a lease that allows her to live rent free for the rest of her life. In this case, no-one can look for rent off her and no rent relief would be possible. Also, there's a chance that the lease may be passed on part of an inheritence.
 
or the old lady has a cat which gets the right to stay there even if the old lady passes away ... some skeletons in the closet ...
endless possibilities ..
 
Hi ludermor,

If you did look to purchase the property it would be unlikely that any bank would lend to you. They would need to have clear title and as the lady in situ would appear to have some legal entitlement to reside in the property.

It sounds to me like the property is owned by a bank as a result of a repossession or a developer who was going to redevelop and pass a new dwelling to the lady. Either way you wont get the purchase unless you have cash and even then your solicitor would and should advise against it.
 
Yes checked with the bank and they wont give a mortgage with no vacant possesion. The woman has to see out her days in the place which is fair enough, my curiousity has been satisified thanks all.
 
I don't know why a solicitor would necessarily advise against buying in these circumstances. As long as the purchaser knew the situation and the risks involved and was still willing to proceed, well it is then their decision.

In fact these kinds of purchases are common on the continent- where an elderly person decides to sell their house but retain an exclusive right of residence. They sometimes pay by way of an annual stipend.The buyer takes a risk on how long the person will live. Actually there was a famous case in france where the seller outlived the buyer, and I think maybe even the buyers children and by the time they died they had received the value of the house many times over.
 
ludermor said:
Yes checked with the bank and they wont give a mortgage with no vacant possesion. The woman has to see out her days in the place which is fair enough, my curiousity has been satisified thanks all.
Click to expand...

Noted, But how can the property be placed on the market with 'Vacant Possession' in what you have stated. The term means what has already been stated. Are the terms of sale changed whereby the lady is remaining or will it be emptied prior to completion ??
 

The property is clearly advertised as "No Vacant Possession" which assumes , as OP has stated, that any purchaser buys with the tenant in situ. Very unusual in this day and age but would have been very common in times past.

mf
 
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