vacant possession but still a lease in place

V

valeria

im due to have settlement on the 10 april as agreed on the contract with vacant possession BUT a 3 months lease is in place which will end on the 8 may (so almost 30 days over).

this lease was never agreed upon and the real estate agent decided to go ahead and sign up new tenants to take over the past month-to-month tenants that were in place before.

thing is: we don't want the tenant, we've made plans (our house is on the market) and the new house needs to be rennovated before we can move in so having that extra month would be a massive help.

we are extremely angry at all this: if the estate agent had a grain of brain, he should have contacted us first before placing anyone on a lease and have our consent since the lease would be going over by one month (therefore, those tenants will be in our house)

We've made it very clear to our conveyancer and they told us that it looks like we won't get vacant possession.

So what can we do now?
 
Ouch that is annoying. The only thing you can do is possibly withhold money at settlement for breach of the contract by the vendor. Possibly seek some compensation due to lost opportunity/rental or reliance damages.

I don't think you can terminate the agreement because you are not the 'landlord' when the tenancy was created so you have no standing right now.
 
Oh I feel your pain! We had to wait 6 months to move into our house, we just did all the renos to it, while the tenants were in the house, and got a nice tax return at the end of the year :)
 
valeria said:
im due to have settlement on the 10 april as agreed on the contract with vacant possession BUT a 3 months lease is in place which will end on the 8 may (so almost 30 days over).

this lease was never agreed upon and the real estate agent decided to go ahead and sign up new tenants to take over the past month-to-month tenants that were in place before.

thing is: we don't want the tenant, we've made plans (our house is on the market) and the new house needs to be rennovated before we can move in so having that extra month would be a massive help.

we are extremely angry at all this: if the estate agent had a grain of brain, he should have contacted us first before placing anyone on a lease and have our consent since the lease would be going over by one month (therefore, those tenants will be in our house)

We've made it very clear to our conveyancer and they told us that it looks like we won't get vacant possession.

So what can we do now?
Click to expand...

What does the sale contract say? If QLD then if no vacant possession on settlement day the buyer can terminate and seek damages.
 
Seriously? They signed up a NEW tenant while the house was under contract for a vacant possession? Which means the previous tenant left knowing the house was for sale?

If I was the new tenant I'd be pissed as much as you are.
 
RumpledElf said:
Seriously? They signed up a NEW tenant while the house was under contract for a vacant possession? Which means the previous tenant left knowing the house was for sale?

If I was the new tenant I'd be pissed as much as you are.
Click to expand...


Me too, but we have to remember they are proffessional agents and they know what they are doing.

Must have been the tenant's fault :confused::rolleyes:
 
kathryn d said:
Imagine how the owner may feel...if they think they are losing a sale.
Click to expand...

For sure, the professionalism I talked about affects everyone, luckily it's only money & shelter we're talking about and not anything important.

Maybe we're panicking over nothing and the REA knows what they are doing :rolleyes:
 
I'd seek damages. Get them to pay your rent until you get possession or risk losing the sale. Not ideal but better than just wearing it (which you don't have to do).
 
DaveMSydney said:
Waiting for the obligatory "thats what you resi investors get" post from Dazz... :D
Click to expand...

I think his recent bad retail experiences have him licking his wounds a bit..;)

It sounds like retail is even worse than resi, and Dazz is suffering at the moment. He might need some TLC!
 
our house is currently on the market, its been for 4 weeks now and no offers yet so we have a mortgage (very small, $520 per month).

If things fall through, can we get them to pay for the real estate agent fees for our current house?

Btw, the tenants in the new house are different tenants apparently.
The previous one moved out once the house was under offer and they signed up someone else for 3 months.
 
valeria said:
im due to have settlement on the 10 april as agreed on the contract with vacant possession BUT a 3 months lease is in place which will end on the 8 may (so almost 30 days over).

this lease was never agreed upon and the real estate agent decided to go ahead and sign up new tenants to take over the past month-to-month tenants that were in place before.
Click to expand...

you may need to switch to a solicitor if your conveyancer isnt managing it strongly enough for you.

My understanding, which is very limited, is that if the contract states vacant possession, then you dont need to settle until the property is vacant.

One thing on your side is that you havent sold your house yet, so you can include negotiating a longer settlement with your purchaser to allow you to do what you need to do.
 
locko24 said:
The agency can't sign up a new tenant without the owner's knowledge.

What were they thinking!!! :eek:
Serves them right if you decide not to settle, or ask for compensation.
Click to expand...

I thought about that before I wrote that post, but some of the horror stories we hear about PMs...who knows what they tell the owners.
 
ask for compensation and then negotiate a longer settle period on your house and you will be better off :p
try and turn it into a positive
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Department of Housing lease - experiences?
Replies
4
Views
1K
chilliblue
C
Wirra436
Breake of Lease- Repossession
Replies
4
Views
1K
S.T
S
A
PM making typo on lease contract
2
Replies
33
Views
5K
Choc
C
V
Contract with vacant possession but i want to keep the tenant.
Replies
3
Views
1K
Bargain Hunter
Bargain Hunter
H
DHA management fees
Replies
7
Views
2K
sydprop
S
Back
Top