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Landlord exit · Renters' Rights Act 2026 · South Yorkshire

Sell a tenanted property with the tenants in situ

No eviction, no notice period, no void. The tenancy passes to us with the house, so the rent keeps coming right up to completion. Emptying it first now means four months' notice under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Most sales complete in 7 to 28 days, 7 at the fastest.

Written and reviewed by the South Yorkshire Property Buyers team.

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Quick answer: You can sell a tenanted buy-to-let with the tenant still in place. The tenancy transfers to the new owner, so there is no need to evict anyone or wait for a void period. We buy tenanted property across South Yorkshire for cash, usually completing in 7 to 28 days, with the rent still running.

The short version

Three steps, and your tenant stays put

No Ground 1A notice, no possession claim, no void period. The tenancy transfers with the house.

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Step 1

Tell us about the let

Fill in the form at the bottom of this page. The address, the rent, the tenancy start date and the deposit position are enough to price it.
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Step 2

Get your offer the same day

In writing, valid for 14 days. Our best offer, first time, with the comparables and the current rent shown.
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Step 3

Complete with the tenancy intact

We handle the paperwork with your solicitor. Most sales complete in 7 to 28 days, and the fastest we have done is 7.

Which kind of landlord exit are you?

The landlords arriving at this page in 2026 fall into six recognisable groups. Most belong to more than one. The right exit route depends on which mix applies.

How a tenanted BTL cash sale works. South Yorkshire Property Buyers.

Your fixed rate is ending

The new mortgage rate costs more than the rent brings in and you want out before it starts. Landlords here nearly always sell tenanted rather than wait.

The tax has killed it

You pay higher-rate tax and you have a mortgage. The sums stopped working when mortgage interest relief went, and every year you hold on costs you.

You won't work under the new rules

You've read the new rules and decided they aren't for you. This group almost always sells with the tenant in place, and the tenancy goes with the house.

You're tired and your tenants are settled

Nobody wants a fight. You just want out without putting anyone out of their home. It is the most common reason landlords ring us about a tenanted sale.

You're selling a portfolio

Two to ten properties, often sold across two tax years to keep the tax bill down, and nearly always tenanted. You need a buyer who can handle several completions.

It has gone wrong

Rent arrears, a difficult tenant, or a possession case already running. This is the one group where possession is worth discussing first: see tenant not paying rent.

Not sure where you stand?

Tell us about the property and we'll come back the same day with a written offer, valid for 14 days. No obligation, and no pressure either way.

Get my free cash offer

The Renters' Rights Act 2026, what changed on 1 May and why it changes your maths

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect across England on 1 May 2026. Here is what changed for a landlord wanting out:

If you are choosing between selling tenanted and evicting first, the rule that matters most is Ground 1A. That is next. We cover the end of Section 21 in more detail here: Section 21 abolished, how to evict a tenant in 2026.

Ground 1A, the landlord-sale possession ground, and the sixteen-month freeze hidden inside it

4 months Notice you have to give Ground 1A is the landlord-sale possession ground, served on the new Form 3A. It used to be two months under Section 21. Before anything
First 12 months When you can't use it at all Ground 1A isn't available in the first twelve months of a tenancy, and every tenancy that already existed when the Act took effect counts as starting on that day. Timing
12 months Re-let ban after possession Once you have possession you can't let the property again, or even advertise it to let. The clock starts on the date your notice gives as the earliest day court action could begin. The trap
16 months Out of the rental market Four months' notice plus the twelve-month ban, and longer if the tenant fights it and the case goes to a hearing. The full figure only bites if the sale drags or falls through, because you can't re-let while the ban runs. The government's summary of the Renters' Rights Act sets out the new rules. The real cost
£7,000 Fine for breaking the ban Up to £40,000 for serious or repeated breaches, and in the worst cases it becomes a criminal matter. If you slip
Proof needed You have to show you're selling Ground 1A is a mandatory ground, but the court still wants evidence: an agent instructed, marketing paperwork, or agreed terms with a buyer. Landlords who can't show it are expected to lose. At the hearing

Want a real figure rather than an estimate?

Two minutes on the form is enough. We price on the property itself, not to a set percentage, and it's our best offer first time.

See what we'd pay
How long each route really takes 2026 UK averages: Zoopla, HomeOwners Alliance, Property Solvers
Estate agent
22-26 weeks
Cash buyer (us)
1 to 4 weeks

What the two routes actually involve

The open market route has seven places it can stall. Ours has two parties in it.

7 things that can stop it

A chain sale

→✕→→
  • Your buyer applies for a mortgage, which the lender can still withdraw
  • The lender sends a surveyor, who can down-value or flag the condition
  • Searches come back and can raise something nobody expected
  • Enquiries go back and forth between four sets of solicitors
  • Your buyer's own sale has to hold together
  • So does their buyer's sale, and so on up the chain
  • Everyone has to be ready to exchange on the same day
2 parties, nothing behind us

Selling to us

→
  • No mortgage application, because we buy with our own funds
  • No lender's surveyor, so condition can't be used to renegotiate
  • No onward chain, because we aren't selling anything to buy yours
  • Your solicitor still does the searches and the legal work properly
  • You pick the completion date, and we work to it

That's why this route runs in weeks rather than months. The legal work still happens, the things that break sales don't.

Selling tenanted vs selling vacant, the maths, not the folklore

13.3% Of all UK home purchases Hamptons' April 2026 Lettings Index puts landlord buyers at 13.3% of all UK home purchases between January and April 2026, the highest share since the second-home stamp duty surcharge came in in 2016. Jan to Apr 2026
23.9% In Northern England North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humber. The buyer pool for tenanted stock has effectively doubled in twelve months, so well-yielding lots no longer trade at a deep discount. Our patch
23.0% Bought already let A record 23.0% of homes bought by landlords had previously been let by the previous owner, so a tenant in place isn't the obstacle it once was. Those figures describe the market, not our own pricing. We don't work to a fixed percentage, so what we would pay for your property depends on the property. Sold tenanted

A worked example, a Doncaster three-bed semi

The property. A three-bed semi in central Doncaster, bought in 2008 for £85,000 and worth about £170,000 empty on today's market. It is let to a long-standing tenant at £750 a month. No mortgage left to pay off. The landlord pays higher-rate tax and has never lived there.

Route Headline price Time Net after fees and CGT
Open-market vacant (Ground 1A)£170,0008-12 mo£141,623
Open-market tenanted£155,0004-6 mo£136,980
Auction tenanted (MMoA)£140,0006-8 wk£128,407
Cash buyer tenanted (SYPB)£146,0007-28 days£134,120

Three things stand out. The gap between the best and the worst outcome is about £13,000, not the 30% landlords assume. Selling empty beats selling tenanted on the open market, but only if you can carry a year of eviction risk, court action, empty months and the chance your buyer pulls out. The cash tenanted sale lands close to the open-market tenanted figure and completes in 7 to 28 days instead of months. You are trading a slightly lower headline price for speed and certainty. The £146,000 in that row is a modelled figure for this one property with these facts, not a rate we apply to every house. Yours would be priced on its own facts, which is why we won't put a percentage on it before we have spoken to you.

One thing the auction row doesn't show on its face. On the modern method of auction the winning bidder pays a non-refundable reservation fee on top of the hammer price, usually about 5% plus VAT. It is called a buyer's fee. But buyers work to a total budget, so it comes out of what they can afford to bid, and the hammer price drops by roughly the same amount. Your own costs then come off that lower price. The same lesson applies to every row in the table. Compare what lands in your account, not what is quoted. An asking price isn't what you net after agent fees and months of waiting, a hammer price isn't what the buyer could actually afford, and our offer is the figure that reaches your account on completion. That doesn't mean we always leave you with more. It means the headline numbers aren't like for like.

A cash sale with the tenant in place usually makes sense when one of these is true. Your fixed rate has ended and the mortgage is hurting. Life has changed, through retirement, illness or separation, and being a landlord has become a burden. The house needs work you don't want to pay for. Or the Ground 1A timetable doesn't fit your tax planning.

Capital Gains Tax for outgoing BTL landlords in 2026

18% or 24% The rate on your gain 18% while the gain sits inside the basic-rate band, 24% above it. The Autumn 2024 Budget kept these rates. The main cost
£3,000 Tax free, each person So £3,000 each if the house is in joint names. You can't carry it forward to another year. Small relief
60 days To report and pay You must report and pay within 60 days of completion through HMRC's online account. The return needs your original purchase deed, the stamp duty receipt, the solicitor's invoice and proof of any improvement work, so start digging them out early. Hard deadline
£100 Penalty for missing it Charged straight away, with more added the longer you leave it. The same figure has to match your tax return at the end of the year. Avoidable
Final 9 months Private Residence Relief If you ever lived in the property as your main home, that time is exempt, plus the final nine months you owned it. Lettings Relief rarely helps now: since April 2020 it only applies if you lived there at the same time as your tenant. Check it
No CGT On transfers between spouses Putting half in a husband or wife's name before you sell gives you a second £3,000 allowance and can move part of the gain into the 18% band. Completing either side of 5 April, or spreading a portfolio over two tax years, moves the bill most. In a company it is Corporation Tax on the gain plus dividend tax on the way out, which usually costs more. Speak to an accountant before you exchange. Planning

Section 24, the silent killer for leveraged landlords

20% All the relief you get now Section 24 of the Finance Act 2015 stopped landlords deducting mortgage interest from rental profit. You get a 20% tax credit instead. Basic-rate taxpayers barely notice it. Higher-rate landlords with a mortgage do, and it is the main reason South Yorkshire landlords tell us the numbers no longer work. Since 2015
£2,000 a year Real cash profit on paper A higher-rate taxpayer with one Doncaster three-bed, a £200,000 mortgage at 5% and £1,200 a month coming in, after the mortgage and the running costs. Looks fine
£800 a year lost What it actually loses The tax is worked out as if the mortgage interest didn't exist, so the bill comes to more than the profit. One boiler replacement, one empty month or a higher rate on the next deal and the loss grows. A landlord in this position is rarely a good candidate for waiting and seeing. The reality

The process, selling tenanted in situ, step by step

Selling with the tenant in place is simpler than selling empty. Ownership and the tenancy both pass to the buyer on completion, under Section 141 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The tenant doesn't have to sign anything. The steps below assume one house on a straightforward periodic assured tenancy.

  1. Initial enquiry and offer (same day). Tell us the address, the rent, the deposit position, the tenancy start date, and any background. We come back with a written cash offer valid for 14 days, based on independent comparable evidence and the current rent. It is our best offer at that point, based on what you have told us. We don't start low and work up.
  2. Solicitors instructed. Once you accept, both sides instruct solicitors and the legal work starts. That legal work is called conveyancing. We can cover your legal fees if you use our panel solicitor. You can always use your own solicitor instead, and you pay those fees yourself.
  3. The property information form (TA6). You fill in a form about the property. A tenanted sale has more to declare than an empty one: rent arrears, deposit scheme numbers, any complaints about disrepair, any council notices, and any Section 8 or Section 21 notice you have served. Answer it honestly. In Patarkatsishvili v Woodward-Fisher [2023] EWHC 3300 (Ch) the court unwound a completed sale years afterwards because of dishonest answers on this form.
  4. Checks on the title and the tenancy. The solicitors confirm the tenancy is sound, the deposit is properly protected, and the gas and electrical safety records are in date. The rent is split to the day you complete.
  5. Deposit transfer. A custodial deposit moves online to the new landlord's scheme account. An insurance-backed deposit ends at completion and the new landlord has to protect it again within 30 days. Miss those 30 days and the landlord can be ordered to pay the tenant one to three times the deposit, under Section 214 of the Housing Act 2004. So the solicitors get the buyer's confirmation in place before completion.
  6. Section 3 notice. Within two months of completion the new owner must write to the tenant with the change of landlord and an address for serving notices. That comes from Section 3 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The tenancy itself doesn't change.
  7. Completion. The money moves, the keys change hands, and your tenant carries on as before. All that changes for them is the account the rent goes into. You are out.

Typical timeline from first enquiry to completion: 7 to 28 days for a straightforward tenancy. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for an HMO with licensing checks, and longer again for a portfolio completing across two tax years.

The Ground 1A alternative, and why it rarely wins on the numbers

Serve Ground 1A, then sell empty

Four months' notice on Form 3A once the tenancy is at least twelve months old, county court if the tenant doesn't leave, then the twelve-month re-let ban runs while you market an empty house. All in, expect 9 to 14 months from deciding to sell to the money arriving, and you can't put a tenant back in if your buyer pulls out mid-ban. It still wins if the house is mortgage-free, your tenant is leaving anyway and it sells quickly.

List it tenanted with an agent

Investor buyers only, so a smaller pool, and viewings have to be arranged around your tenant. Four to six months on the figures above, with the same chain and fall-through risk as any open market sale.

Put it in a tenanted auction lot

Six to eight weeks, and binding once the hammer falls. You don't know the price until the day, and on the modern method the buyer's fee comes out of what they can afford to bid, so the hammer price drops by roughly the same amount. Our guide to selling a house at auction sets out the trade-offs.

Best if the tenancy stays

Sell to us, tenant stays put

No notice, no court, no re-let ban and no empty months. You get our best offer, first time, in writing and valid for 14 days, with the comparables and the current rent shown. Most clean tenanted sales complete in 7 to 28 days, and the tenancy passes to us on completion so your tenant keeps their home on the same rent and terms.

South Yorkshire specifics: Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley

National guides don't know S4 from S10, where the River Don floods, or which council just designated a new selective licensing area. Here is what matters for a tenanted BTL exit in South Yorkshire as of early 2026.

Capital values and rents

Selective licensing, current as of May 2026

£995 Rotherham licence, per property A new scheme came into force on 15 February 2026 and runs to 2031. It covers the Town Centre, Eastwood, Clifton, Boston Castle, Masbrough, Kimberworth, Thurcroft, Dinnington, Brinsworth and Parkgate. New
£975 Barnsley licence, per property Barnsley's first selective licensing scheme started on 15 February 2026 and runs to 2031, with a discount if you have a good track record. New
£200 To apply in Hexthorpe, Doncaster Plus £80 to £400 a year. The Hexthorpe Selective Licensing Scheme runs until 28 February 2027, and no other Doncaster scheme is in force. Plus annual fee
Lapsed Sheffield's two schemes Page Hall (S4) has lapsed, and so has the London Road, Abbeydale Road and Chesterfield Road scheme. Sheffield is consulting on wider citywide licensing, so expect more here over the next year or two, not less. For now
£30,000 Letting without a licence Up to £30,000, or prosecution. It is the most expensive thing to get wrong on a tenanted sale, and it turns up in the legal work every time. Watch out
Say it early Your licensing position Tell us up front, including if you haven't got a licence. Investor buyers expect the question, and a missing licence is far easier to price in early than to discover halfway through the legal work. Costs you nothing

Working to a deadline?

Tell us the date. Most sales complete in 7 to 28 days, and if we can't work to your timescale we'll say so straight away.

Talk to us today

Possession courts and local landlord support

Section 8 possession claims in South Yorkshire are heard at Sheffield Combined Court Centre (Sheffield, Stocksbridge, and Rotherham postcodes), Doncaster County Court (Doncaster, Bentley, Mexborough) and Barnsley Law Courts (Barnsley, Cudworth). Free duty solicitors from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service are at all of them to help tenants. So a landlord's case has to be watertight before it goes in. A thin claim won't get an order.

The NRLA South Yorkshire regional branch chaired by Tariq Shah OBE runs quarterly meetings and a Coffee & Chat series in Rotherham and Sheffield. The 12 June 2025 South Yorkshire Landlord Forum brought together 100-plus landlords, local authorities and support organisations to discuss the Renters' Rights Act transition. NRLA membership is a sensible step for any landlord still trading, regardless of exit plans.

What about your tenant?

We get asked this on almost every call. Selling to an investor buyer is far better for your tenant than evicting them under Ground 1A. They keep their home. Their rent doesn't change. Their deposit stays protected. The school run doesn't move. From their perspective, the only change is the bank account the standing order pays into.

A legitimate tenanted buyer should commit, in writing in the heads of terms, to:

South Yorkshire Property Buyers makes all five of these commitments as standard. If you would like a plain-English explainer to share with your tenant, we wrote one for them: your landlord is selling, what happens to you? and a deeper guide at tenant rights when a landlord sells. Sending the link to your tenant before the conveyancing starts is almost always the right move.

Common scams and how to verify any tenanted-property cash buyer

Cash-buying has a reputation problem for good reasons. Apply the six checks below to any cash buyer, including South Yorkshire Property Buyers.

  1. Companies House. Look the buyer up at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Check the company is active, has been going a while, and its accounts are up to date. A past name change isn't a red flag on its own, but read the filing history and ask about anything odd.
  2. Proof of funds. Ask for a solicitor's letter on headed paper, dated within the last 14 days, confirming the money is there and available. A real cash buyer can produce one within a couple of days.
  3. The Property Ombudsman or NAPB membership. Verify at tpos.co.uk and napb.co.uk. Membership signals submission to a code of practice and an external complaints route.
  4. Online reviews and footer trust signals. Search the buyer's name with "review" and "complaint". Check the website footer for the registered company name, company number, and registered office. Mismatches between website branding and the legal entity buying the property are a red flag.
  5. Money laundering and data registration. Cash buyers have to be registered for anti-money-laundering checks under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Any business holding your personal details must also be on the ICO register.
  6. Your right to your own solicitor. A buyer who pushes you towards a solicitor only they have named is showing you a red flag. That right isn't negotiable.

Four more warning signs. First, any upfront fee, ever. Valuation deposits, admin fees and refundable holds are all scams. A real cash buyer's costs come out of the sale at completion. Second, the company buying the house should be the one named on the website and at Companies House. A different name turning up at exchange is a red flag. Third, a verbal offer isn't an offer. Get it in writing, with the working shown and a date it runs to. Fourth, pressure to sign before you have taken advice. We won't be offended if you take our offer to Citizens Advice, the NRLA or a solicitor first.

How South Yorkshire Property Buyers handles a tenanted purchase

We are a small local team. We buy with our own money and we answer the phone ourselves, so the person who prices your property is the person you deal with through to completion. We buy tenanted property across Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley and the surrounding South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire postcodes. Any AST or new periodic assured tenancy. HMOs welcome, licensed or not. A long-standing tenant is a good thing, not a problem.

We don't publish an offer band for tenanted property, because there isn't one. Every let is priced on its own facts: the comparables, the rent actually coming in, the tenancy and deposit position, the licensing and the condition. A well-let house in a strong postcode and a problem let with arrears aren't the same property, and we won't treat them as if they were. The tenanted discount is already inside the figure we give you. We don't take it off twice. What you get is our best offer at that point, based on what you have told us. We don't start low and work our way up. We will always show you the working in writing: the comparables, the current rent, and any adjustment for condition. The offer can change if the legal work turns up something material, such as a title defect or a structural problem, or if the property turns out to be different from how it was described. If that happens we will show you the new figure and the reason for it.

Want to check that against your own house? Get a free, independent estimate from Zoopla or Rightmove, then ask us what we would pay. Every property is different, so we price yours on what it actually is rather than on a formula. There is no fee and no obligation.

Get a free, confidential same day cash offer

Tell us about your tenanted property. We will come back to you with a written cash offer the same day, valid for 14 days, with no fees and your own solicitor if you want one. We won't pressure you, and we won't be offended if you take the offer to an independent advisor before deciding.

Get a Cash Offer

Areas we cover across South Yorkshire

Sheffield Rotherham Doncaster Barnsley Chesterfield Worksop Retford Gainsborough Mansfield

Still weighing it up?

You don't have to decide anything to get a figure. Tell us about the property and we'll put our best offer in writing, valid for 14 days.

Get my free cash offer

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Ownership and the tenancy both pass to the new owner on completion, under Section 141 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The tenancy carries on unbroken. Section 3 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says the tenant must be told in writing within two months of completion, but they don't sign anything new. Selling the house can't be used to end a tenancy early. Selling with the tenant in place is the normal route. Ground 1A is the exception.

No. We are an investor buyer. We want a rent-generating tenanted asset, not vacant possession. Your tenant stays on their existing tenancy terms. We take on the landlord obligations on completion: deposit re-protected within 30 days, gas safety and EICR records transferred, Section 3 notice served, and the tenant's day-to-day living position doesn't change.

Not for an AST or the new periodic assured tenancy of a house. There is no statutory right of pre-emption. The right of first refusal under Part I of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 applies only to certain long-leasehold flats with qualifying tenants, not to ASTs of houses or short-let flats. You are free to sell to any buyer.

The deposit has to be protected again with one of the three approved schemes (DPS, TDS or MyDeposits) within 30 days of completion. A custodial deposit transfers online fairly cleanly. An insurance-backed deposit has to be protected from scratch by the new landlord. Miss the 30 days and the landlord can be ordered to pay the tenant one to three times the deposit, under Section 214 of the Housing Act 2004. A solicitor used to tenanted sales will handle this as part of completion.

Ground 1A is the new mandatory Section 8 ground that lets a landlord evict a tenant in order to sell. It came in with the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on 1 May 2026. Three rules make it harder than landlords expect. You must give four months' notice. You can't use it in the first twelve months of a tenancy. And you can't re-let the property for twelve months after you get possession. Together that is roughly a sixteen-month freeze. Break the re-let ban and fines run from £7,000 up to £40,000. Selling with the tenant in place avoids Ground 1A altogether.

A little cheaper, but nowhere near as much as landlords think. A clean, well-let house in South Yorkshire sold to another investor usually goes for around 7-12% below what it would fetch empty, not the 30-40% people quote. HMOs are valued on bricks and mortar under RICS guidance, which usually removes the discount completely. On our worked Doncaster example the cash tenanted sale nets a few thousand pounds less than selling empty on the open market, before you count the months of lost rent and carrying costs under the Ground 1A timetable.

Residential property gains are taxed at 18% within the basic-rate band and 24% above it (rates preserved at the Autumn 2024 Budget). The annual exempt amount is £3,000 per individual from 2024-25. UK-resident landlords with CGT to pay must report and pay within 60 days of completion using HMRC's "Capital Gains Tax on UK property" online account. Private Residence Relief applies to any period of actual main-residence occupation plus the final 9 months of ownership; Lettings Relief is now restricted to landlords who shared occupation with the tenant.

Yes. Section 24 of the Finance Act 2015 applies for the whole tax year in which you sell. Rent you receive between 6 April and completion is taxed in full, and your mortgage interest only gets you a 20% tax credit. For a higher-rate landlord with a large buy-to-let mortgage, that can mean a real after-tax loss even while cash is coming in. Completing either side of 5 April, or using a spouse's basic-rate band, can bring the bill down.

Yes. The tenancy continues unaffected, there is nothing to terminate, surrender or re-grant. We instruct solicitors, our solicitor and yours complete title checks and a deposit-and-rent apportionment, the tenant is served the Section 3 notice, and completion proceeds in the normal way. Typical timeline from offer to completion is 7 to 28 days; cases with HMO licensing or deposit irregularities can add 1 to 2 weeks while the position is regularised.

We still buy. The arrears affect the price (the deposit may need topping up or the rent may need re-basing on a new tenancy with the buyer) but the underlying tenanted purchase is still the right channel. We will be transparent in writing about how arrears have been factored in. If you would rather pursue possession via Section 8 Ground 8 (mandatory ground for serious arrears) before selling, our sister page on tenant not paying rent walks through the options.

Usually no. RICS guidance on valuing buy-to-let and HMO property is clear that a small HMO which could go back to being a single let is valued on bricks and mortar, not on the rent roll. That normally removes the tenanted discount. A current HMO licence in a high-demand area can even add a small premium. Sheffield student postcodes S7, S10 and S11 are the obvious example. We buy licensed and unlicensed HMOs.

Yes. We can complete on a single property or a portfolio of 2-10 properties, including SPV trading-entity sales. Portfolio completions are typically chained across tax years to maximise annual exempt amounts and to manage basic-rate-band utilisation across spouses. Our sister page on selling a property portfolio covers the structuring options, with a deeper guide at how to sell a property portfolio quickly.

Rather just ask us directly?

You don't need to read the rest. Send us the property details and we'll come back the same day with a written offer, valid for 14 days.

Get my free cash offer

Always. Your right to instruct your own solicitor is absolute and we won't pressure you on the choice. We cover sale-side legal fees only when you use our recommended panel solicitor; if you instruct your own, you pay those fees yourself. A buyer who tries to insist you use a specific solicitor named only by them is showing you a red flag, that is one of the six items in the verification playbook above.

Six checks: Companies House (incorporated, active, accounts up to date), proof of funds via a solicitor's letter on letterhead dated within 14 days, The Property Ombudsman or NAPB membership, online reviews and footer trust signals, AML and ICO registration, and your absolute right to your own solicitor.

You don't need your tenant's permission to sell, and by law they only have to be told after it happens. The new owner must write to them within two months of completion. Even so, telling them early is usually the kinder and safer route. A tenant who knows their home isn't at risk is less likely to stop paying rent or start looking elsewhere. We can help you word it.

Yes. Your tenant can refuse viewings and the law is on their side, which is where a lot of tenanted sales stall. We don't need a stream of strangers walking through the house. We can price from your details, photos and the rent being paid. If we do need to see inside, it is usually one visit, at a time that suits your tenant.

You keep the rent up to the day you complete, and the buyer takes it from then on. The solicitors work it out to the exact day and settle it at completion, along with the deposit. There is no empty period in between, so no rent is lost while ownership changes hands. That is one of the quiet advantages of selling with the tenant still in place.

It doesn't stop the sale, but it doesn't go away either. A deposit that was never protected, or protected late, can leave the landlord facing a court penalty of one to three times the deposit under Section 214 of the Housing Act 2004. Tell us at the start. We price it in openly and the solicitors sort the paperwork. Hiding it on the property forms is far worse, because it can come back on you after completion.

Sometimes, yes, and we will say so. If your tenant has already given notice, the house is in decent order and you aren't under time pressure, selling it empty on the open market will usually put more in your pocket than any cash offer. Waiting makes sense when the tenant is genuinely going. Waiting on the hope that they might go is where landlords lose money.

Yes, you can sell at any time, but your lender may charge you for paying the mortgage off early. Ring them and ask for a redemption figure, which is the exact amount needed to clear the loan on a given date, including any early repayment charge. That charge is usually settled out of the sale money rather than from your own pocket. It is worth knowing the number before you decide anything.

Check your agreement before you accept any offer. Some letting agents have a notice period, and some have a clause that pays them a fee if you sell to a buyer they introduced to you. Neither one stops the sale, but both can cost you money you weren't expecting. Send us the agreement and we will go through it with you. If you are unsure, ask a solicitor to read it properly.

No, but it will affect the price, and we will show you why. We value the house on the rent actually coming in, not the rent it could earn with someone new. Under the new rules the rent can only be put up once a year, using the proper form, and the tenant can challenge it. So a long-standing low rent is a real cost to any buyer. We won't pretend otherwise.

No. We buy houses let to tenants on Universal Credit or housing benefit the same as any other. What matters to us is whether the rent is being paid and the tenancy is on a sound footing, not where the money comes from. If payments come direct to you from the DWP, tell us, because that arrangement needs redirecting to the new owner after completion.

Usually yes, and it can save you months. Serving a notice doesn't commit you to going through with it, so if your tenant is still living there you can change course and sell with them in place. Tell us what was served and when, before we make an offer. If a possession claim is already at court, say so, because that changes both the timing and the paperwork.

Question we haven't answered?

Put it on the form with your property details and we'll answer it straight, even if the answer is that a cash sale isn't right for you.

Ask us about your property

Related pages

Useful guides

Related guides

Guides for landlords on the way out

A South Yorkshire terraced rental property being sold with the tenant still living there
Renters' Rights Act

Selling a Tenanted Property in 2026

What the Act changed for landlords selling up, and why selling with the tenant in place is now the quicker route.

Read guide →
A landlord reading the Section 8 possession rules that replaced Section 21
Possession

Section 21 Abolished: How to Evict a Tenant in 2026

Section 8 is the only route left. The grounds, the notice periods, and where landlords come unstuck.

Read guide →
A landlord working through the numbers on whether to sell a buy-to-let
Landlord exit

Should I Sell My Buy-to-Let in 2026?

Section 24, the new rules and the mortgage maths, weighed up without the sales pitch.

Read guide →

What to do next

  1. Fill in the form below with the rent, the tenancy start date and the deposit position. Two minutes, and it's the fastest way to get a real figure.
  2. Or call us if you have a portfolio, an HMO or a licensing question you'd rather talk through.
  3. Dig out the paperwork while you wait: tenancy agreement, deposit scheme reference, gas safety record and EICR. It's the first thing your solicitor will ask for.
  4. Send your tenant this explainer when you're ready. It tells them, in plain English, that their home and their tenancy carry on unchanged.

There's no obligation and no pressure. If we can't help, we'll tell you honestly and point you at what will.

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Tell us about your tenanted property.

We buy with our own funds, so there's no lender, no survey and no chain. Single lets, HMOs and portfolios, with the tenancy carried over on the same terms.

Area We Cover Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley and surrounding South Yorkshire
Response Time We ring you back as fast as we can
Website southyorkshirepropertybuyers.com

Our promise to you: We will never pressure you into a sale. Your enquiry is completely confidential. If we make you an offer and it isn't right for you, there is absolutely no obligation to proceed.

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