Q. I have a property I would like to sell, but it currently has tenants in it. I would like to offer them payment to leave early in order to avoid having to issue proceedings, but would this be deemed as harassment?

A. Yes, you can offer what is generally known as ‘cash for keys’, i.e., a payment to your tenants in return for them giving up possession. Whether it is deemed to be harassment and illegal depends on how you do it.

To avoid allegations of harassment, you need to make the offer in a pleasant and reasonable manner and don’t put the tenants under any pressure to accept.

You will normally want tenants to sign a deed of surrender, so offering to pay for them to take legal advice with a solicitor’s firm will normally prevent any allegations of undue influence. You can limit the amount you are prepared to pay, but make sure your limit is sufficient to allow them at least 30 minutes advice with a decent firm.

The money you offer for them to vacate should be fairly generous, as after all, this will save you the cost and hassle of a court claim. So, offer sufficient to cover, say, the deposit and first month’s rent on a new property.

Then the most important thing is to make sure that you have vacant possession before you pay over any money!

Q. My tenants pay their rent quarterly. If they want to give notice to leave, how much notice should they give? Is it three months’ notice or one month?