Does a new landlord inherit previous AST?

Hi Nick,
An existing tenancy agreement is still valid after the property sale has completed, even though the former landlord is named on it. The tenants in situ must be given the new landlord’s contact details.

But all the checks and advice should be carried out by an experienced solicitor:
Is there an HMO licence
EPC
How to rent guide handed out
Deposit protected etc etc.

Tenants in situ may be harder to evict if everything was not done correctly previously.

Just to add to Neils list:

Gas safety certificate
Electrical safety certificate

Would also be interesting to know whether the tenanats have been meeting their payment obligations.

As said by others, the exisiting AST is the one that both landlord and tenant have to live with. You cannot unilaterally force a new one on the tenant.
Your solicitor should have served formal notice on the tenant of the change of ownership.
I hope that the previous landlord did all the complaicern stuff and has give you the proof.

I inherited a number of ASTs without any problem. Admittedly the landlord obligations were lighter back then.

I contacted all the tenants to explain the situation, and that their tenancies were not in jeopardy.

Two things occur to me. First, do the students have guarantors, and have they also been informed that their obligations remain in place?

Second, if any of the prior required information was not supplied, do the limitations in terms of serving notice carry forward? If so, can a new owner remedy that by producing all the required information now?

A few comments:

1. Most cases of "inheriting" an AST relate to where the term/tenancy has already commenced. It seems to OP is asking about a renewal that has been signed but won't take effect for about another month.
* Given that the terms (apparently) are not being changed from those of the one that had been signed (and, hopefully, witnessed because it was not going to take effect immediately), I cannot see a problem with REQUESTING a replacement contract, where all that has changed is landlord's details - and insertion of a note that this replaced the contract made on between and .
* But I BELIEVE that the original document would still be valid as between the new parties, given that new landlord has served appropriate info (name & address of landord, and details of to whom the rent would be payable) on the tenant.

2. Christopher asks about "limitations in terms of serving notice" if certain documentation has not been supplied to the tenant at the requisite time/s.
* AFAIK, if there is no change in landlord, then landlord can simply serve the documentation late (but before giving notice etc.). Change of landlord would not prevent new landord from having this option.
* Regarding the NEW tenancy, there CANNOT yet have been such a failure to supply the documents.

Don't forget, the new tenancy means re-protecting the deposit, and requirement to repeat the right-to-rent checks. These would not be required if allowing the existing tenancy to become periodic.

Something else you will need to serve is a Section 48 notice, which formally tells the tenants that they have a new landlord. Without it, you won't be able to pursue claims in court.

I would expect your solicitor to have done this as part of the purchase process, though not all do. Thankfully, it's a pretty straightforward notice to serve.

Sounds like a lot to me. I have similar matter risen as follows and would appreciate any comments.

In a process of buying a property for BTL.
Agents knew that I would need to put tenants in ASAP. So they found one before the purchase even started.
They asked me and venders if we would agree to start the tenants in as a matter of urgency. Agreed. I agreed to pay their fees and required other costs for certificate etc. Same as if I would pay as a new tenant find and all work done by the agents, but only after the completion of the purchase.

The agents tell me that they will be able to change everything in my name from venders just by giving section 3 notice to the tenants. So something very different to what I read here.

Also thinking what do I now tell to my solicitor and lender?

Make sure you have all the various certificates and permissions - stay squeaky clean as the fines are astronomical! The council have to get money from somewhere- full council tax on an empty property and licenses are just two examples!

Reply to the comment left by aga smart at 19/06/2021 - 08:48
You need to serve both section 3 (notifying the tenant that the old landlord’s interest has been assigned) and section 48 (informing the tenant of their new landlord’s name and address in England or Wales where they may serve any notices).