Interesting Tenant/Landlord Scenario

Hi all,

I'm trying to manage a situation currently where I recently purchased an investment property and have just got a lease locked in for 12-months with a tenant who literally moved in 3 days ago.

Now I am in a situation where I would like to move in a friend there.

I realise the lease is locked in but is there a way (through my property manager) to give the tenant some compensation to somehow negotiate with them and also give the property manager some small payment for the hassle.

What is the property manager allowed to do in this case - can they even bring up this topic with the tenant?

Pls advise.

Thanks.

 

Quite tricky.

If I was you I would try to communicate directly with the Tenant to sound him out.

If I was the Tenant I would see some writing on the wall and try to make my future hassle free. Compensation would help.

 

Unless mutual agreement nothing can touch the fixed-term tenancy, in that regard, you can incentivise a break lease scenario favourable to the Tenant but it will probably cost you more than it's worth. If you use a PM utilise their expertise to try and get the outcome you want.

 

Hi boganfromlogan - I don't believe it would be fair for me to directly contact the tenant as she is working through the property manager (as am I).

So I'd be looking to work through the property manager given they are managing everything for me.

 

Why would you want to have a friend live in your IP? Best way to lose a friend!

 

Honestly, this is the kind of stuff that encourages tenant associations to push for higher tenant protections. They have signed a legal contract, must have spent money on movers, school changes and you want to uproot them again. It’s a serious inconvenience for them even if you offer compensation and I would encourage you to consider other options for your friend.

 

hahah this is a story by itself, but it's all good I am quite sure our friendship will be in tact.

 

I am not disagreeing with you, and hence am looking to first understand the situation and scenarios/options available here.

 

You need to come to mutual agreement with the tenant as you cannot force them to move out during the fixed tenancy period.

I have negotiated this 4 times in the last few years, once where an owner wanted to move back in and the rest in a small apartment block where they wanted to demolish (although the reason actually isn't relevant). In all cases we offered the tenant a combination of 1-2 final weeks rent-free as well as between 1-3 weeks compensation. Its sometimes useful to explain to the tenant that if they broke the lease at this point the break fee would be 4 weeks, so that might be a good starting point. (Is it worth the cost expense to put your friend in there? Maybe just give some of the funds to them to rent elsewhere.)

I would also get the PM to raise this with the tenant asap as they might not have fully moved in yet.

 

I'm confused. What's the issue with offering the tenant something to move out?

I imagine it would have to be some hefty compensation to be realistic, but otherwise what's the issue with asking the question?

 

Um, why? Has the tenant got a questionable prior tenancy? If not, what's the the problem> Your friend can rent somewhere else, and not cause you any later rent anxiety...

 

It can be done but only If the tenant agrees to this, I've recently negotiated this with a few tenants however due to the Rental market being tight at the moment it has come at a pretty hefty price.

Depending on your actual reasoning you may find the better option financially is to give this money to your friend for another residence

 

As above, discuss compensation with the tenant. The question will be how much is necessary to convince them that it's worth moving.

 

I will never do this... They have not even unpacked! Even just bringing-up the subject would stress them out. In my view this is absurd and disrespectful.

Unless your friend is looking at moving- in after a long period of time....

 

That's just nasty!
Some people are just f****wits!

 

Owners arent allowed to sell properties when they are tenanted now?

 

They can. It's not illegal. But renting to someone while you're trying to sell without disclosing is a pig move.
Families moving into rental are families. It's not like you're running an AirBnB and people come and go.
They build their life around the rental.

Yeah, rental is not certain and it's part of the risk, but at least be honest and give the option to choose.
If it would have been sold, they might had to move at the end of the lease, paying additional 10k.
The LL don't care. It's not his money right?

 

Great, thanks all for the thoughts and info, it was useful.