We have a moving date for the 6th June, I.E. completion the day before. Spoke to the vendor yesterday to see if I can have access to the garden the week before so I can get me shed up & out of the way, no problems at all says he, except it now transpires that he has a problem with the property he’s moving to (dodgy guttering/roof) & says if it’s not sorted by the seller of that property, which is a new build, he wants to put he moving date back by a ‘few weeks’. We’ve got everything in place to move on the 6th, so what are the implications? Wev’e already bent over backwards to suit his requirements including taking time off work earlier this month to bring the date forward cos he was going on holiday next week. (we didn’t move & now he’s not going after all) plus other little bits & bobs. Trouble is me & Sue both do shifts, she’s permanent nights including weekends & I work every other weekend & only get single rest days during the week. So we’ve got no weekends off together till August. I know his problems aren’t ours but he’s making them ours! What’s the verdict? (apart from weeing in his shoes & smacking him with me RC40’s)

Moving date is the moving date. I take it contracts are signed? Dunno quite how it works in England cos it is different but I thought that once the day was agreed that was it – after all a whole chain could be moving on that day. compo is possible if he ain’t ready to move that day

get your solicitor to lean on him.
The fact that his new house isn’t ready yet shouldn’t be your problem (btw how can new build have dodgy guttering/roof?); you have an agreed completion date and presumably there’s more chain below you also dependant on that date.

He needs to find a rental house in the meantime. I have one open to let (if it hasn’t sold by then) in the most loveliest area of lovely Bradford that I may consider letting to him 😉

ask them which is harder to do find a house or find a buyer go into the estate agents who have the house up say you think it will fall through (threaten vendor with this date or no sale first)and ask to look at other houses
Worked for us but only just
Personally be sympatheitic with them but only threaten to walk if you would walk we would have but it was very stressful.

you need to exchange contracts, once you’ve exchanged the moving date is set in writing. If you;ve exchanged you can negotiate a change of dates, but if it’s not convenient you dn;t have to. If you haven;t exchanged, get on the blower to your solicitor and sort it now.

Contracts have been exchanged but there’s no chain as such. Wer’e buying his house, the builder of his new place is buying ours, like a 3 way deal. It’s annoying cos we’ve never heard a peep out of his builder regarding our place, all straightforward in that dept but matey’s been arsey with the builder as well. Stuff like the letterbox being in the wrong place etc.
He was supposed to be seeing his solicitor today but I think I’ll be on to ours tomorrow!

So, he’s already inconvenienced you, and could cause you further inconvenience?

Tell him to clear your new property on or before the contractually agreed moving date, or you will be charging him rent. At £500 a day, or something silly.

Sorry, there’s being understanding, and there’s being a doormat. This bloke’s taking the piss, by the sounds of it. A couple of days, fair enough, but a ‘few weeks’? No, he’ll just have to put his belongings into storage, and rent somewhere, while his place is sorted. Tough. Business is business.

TBH, were I in your shoes, I’d laugh at him.

if it’s in the contract that that’s the moving date then you don’t have let him stay. Don’t chanrge rent otherwise he has rights and a few weeks will turn into a minimum notification period which I think is still 4 weeks. There have been a few horror stories about similar circumstances but then you always hear the bad ones and never the good ones. Solicitors won’t arrange an alternative date after cntracts have been exchanged without a penalty

I don’t really understand. If you’ve exchanged then you have a date that they have to stick to unless you agree otherwise. If they don’t, they’ll be liable to you majorly. Get your solictor to show them their teeth if you think you’re being messed about.

Your vendor sounds like a fussy stupid twxt who has no understanding of the legality of a binding contract of sale. He has to vacate on the agreed day of completion.

An issue with the roof should have been flagged by his survey. As his property is new, he should expect a certain number of snags. It’s nothing to do with you if there are outstanding matters. He should complete and then submit a snagging list to the builder.

Stick to your agreed completion date. Get you solicitor to pen him a letter to this effect. Maybe your solicitor has some suggestions as to how to get the vendor to understand his obligations to you.

Good luck!