"I'm Selling Up": What Agents Must Get Right Under the New Possession Rules

Landlord says they're selling, but is it genuine? Under the Renters' Rights Act, agents who mishandle sale-related possessions risk penalties and complaints. Learn the checks that keep you and your clients compliant.

The scenario we see often

A tenant has had a difficult couple of years with their landlord, repair disputes, tension over their rights, and at one point an eviction notice that turned out to be invalid. Now the landlord says they're selling. The tenant genuinely doesn't know whether to believe it, and they're not alone in wondering.

Since Section 21 'no-fault' evictions were abolished by the Renters' Rights Act, we're hearing this question more often: is 'I'm selling' becoming a convenient way to achieve what a no-fault notice used to do, without the paperwork?

What the law actually requires

Under the new grounds-based possession system, a landlord can seek possession because they intend to sell the property, but this isn't a rubber stamp. The landlord must genuinely intend to sell, and the ground generally cannot be used within the first months of a new tenancy, so it can't be deployed as an immediate exit route the moment a tenant becomes inconvenient.

Notice periods for this ground are longer than the old Section 21 minimum, giving tenants meaningfully more time to find alternative accommodation. Critically, if a landlord uses this ground and then doesn't sell, or re-lets the property shortly afterwards, they can face serious consequences, including rent repayment orders and difficulty defending themselves before a tribunal or court.

The intention behind this is straightforward: genuine sales should be able to proceed, but the ground shouldn't be a backdoor to remove a tenant a landlord simply wants gone.

Where agents come in, and where the risk sits

Agents are often the ones drafting notices, taking sale instructions, and fielding questions from anxious tenants. That puts you in a genuinely exposed position if a landlord's 'intention to sell' isn't quite what it seems.

If your firm helps serve a possession notice on this ground and the property is later re-let rather than sold, or the notice was issued suspiciously soon after a dispute with the tenant, expect scrutiny, from the tenant's solicitor, from Trading Standards, or from your redress scheme. Being able to show your firm acted on a genuine, evidenced instruction to market and sell is your protection.

This also touches your material information duties. If a property is being marketed for sale with a sitting tenant, prospective buyers need accurate information about the tenancy, including how and why possession is being sought. Getting this wrong isn't just a possession-process problem; it's a Consumer Protection issue too.

A practical checklist before you act

Before drafting or serving a notice on the selling ground, satisfy yourself, and keep a record, that there is a genuine instruction to sell: a signed agreement, an active or imminent marketing plan, and a realistic asking price and timeline. A landlord asking you to prepare a notice with no corresponding sale instruction is a red flag worth pushing back on.

Check timing against the tenancy: has enough of the tenancy elapsed for this ground to be validly used? Confirm the correct notice period is being given, and advise the landlord clearly that re-letting the property within the restricted period after using this ground can expose them to financial penalties.

Make sure your own house is in order too: current redress scheme membership, client money protection cover if you're handling deposits or rent, and up-to-date Right to Rent checks on any future tenant. None of that is specific to sale-related possessions, but it's exactly the kind of thing that gets checked when a dispute like this one escalates.

Don't let 'the landlord wants to sell' become a shortcut past proper process, verify the sale is genuine, follow the correct notice and timing rules, and keep evidence, because if the sale doesn't happen, your firm's paperwork is what everyone will be looking at.

Need advice on how these changes affect your portfolio or agency?

Lucid Legal · SRA Regulated · No. 8011100 · This article is general commentary and not legal advice.