Renting to Buyers before settlement

We have a situation where our buyer has requested to rent property for one month before the settlement - this is because they have to leave their current rental.
This also suits us as the property is rural (hence outside maintenance) and we will have moved out.

Has anyone done this and if so what legal agreement did you have in place -> New owners will be responsible for all maintenance (grounds and house and appliances) and I was expecting they would do their Pre Settlement inspection before they moved in. They would advise then confirm this in writing.

Could we use a standard lease agreement with an additional clause or is there something simpler?

 

Consult with your solicitor or conveyancer, but overall I probably wouldn't have an issue with it.

Is it possible to simply bring the settlement forward by a month?

 

Best avoided as the residential tenancy laws have minimum lease periods of 6 months generally. You should speak to your lawyer about a licence to occupy.

 

Thanks Peter, Its worth asking the question again -> currently they are awaiting finance approval - any idea how long Macquarie are taking with their approvals at the moment?

 

Licence agreement. Who takes out building insurance?

 

Tks - We would certainly still have it insured.

 

Also exclude maintenance or discovery of defects - getting to live there they get to realise any issues.

 

They're one of the fast ones, picking up applications within 3 days. They can probably get the entire process done within a fortnight.

 

This.

Happened to our son ( vendor) could not settle at the time due to bank document issues. To avoid penalties as the buyer had made all arrangements to move in, occupation was allowed but the solicitor drew up an agreement that settlement would go ahead regardless of any defects or problems discovered while occupied before settlement. All went well.

 

If they are still awaiting finance approval is the contract unconditional? What happens if they don't get approval?