Being a landlord can be incredibly rewarding with the right tenants, the right property and the right letting agents around to help you through the process, but as with anything else, sometimes a person needs to get out.

People want to exit the market for a wide variety of reasons, from relocation, changes in financial circumstances, a desire to redevelop a property or simply wanting to take advantage of higher property prices to sell up.

Ironically, it is much easier to exit the landlord market if the house is unoccupied than if you have successfully retained a tenant, so what can you do if you need to leave but have a tenant who intends to stay?

Sell With Them Staying

One option, and possibly the easiest option if you want to leave quickly, is to sell the property as a tenanted investment.

Whilst this will limit your pool of sellers, the immediate selling point if you have a good relationship with your tenant and they have a consistent history with payments is that anyone who buys the property will get an immediate cash flow.

It also means that if they are planning on buying to let anyway, they know that everything is certified, checked and approved, since you as the previous landlord already carried out all of the checks.

It can be a win-win situation, although the consequence is that there will not necessarily be room for haggling or bidding wars as there would be with a vacant property, and if you want to take advantage of rising house values, that may not lead to the greatest profit.

Ask Nicely And Be Kind

If you need tenants out, the carrot is always far more effective than the stick unless you have particularly troublesome tenants, and landlords have more limited options to evict tenants.

A section 21 order to start a no-fault eviction is going to be outlawed under the Renters’ Rights Bill, and even then there are limitations to how quickly the process can be brought forward.

Similarly, renters have the legal right to appeal against above-market rents (and thus eviction by proxy), so this earlier option to remove tenants is no longer an option.

Instead, explain the situation, provide support to help them find a new home and be as helpful as they are to you by leaving in an orderly fashion.

A lot of the time, the big concern with moves is the uncertainty as much as short timescales, but working together can help provide the best answer for everyone.

Offer Relocation Assistance

It is a last resort, but if you are desperate for a tenant to move out quickly, then a possible option is a tenancy buyout, or relocation assistance, often colloquially known as “cash for keys”.

There are clear terms to follow and legal advice should be sought by both landlord and tenant, but as long as both parties agree to the arrangement, it does not affect tenancy rights and it is wholly voluntary, it can save a lot of time with relocation.

It is not an option for every case and is not immediate, but when done right it can save you a lot of time and trouble in organising an official eviction notice, especially if it would make you a lot more money in the long run by saving time.