Can I use a ‘cash for keys’ arrangement to get the tenant to leave early?

Yes but beware of the pitfalls:

1. You might be paying unnecessarily

Because you already have the right to serve a notice, you could end up paying thousands just to save a couple of months.

2. Uncertainty the tenant will leave

Even if the tenant agrees they might delay leaving

3. Notice restrictions still matter

If your paperwork isn’t valid, the tenant has leverage.
For example:

  • Deposit not protected properly
  • Missing documents

In that case, they may demand more money to leave.

4. No guarantee without a proper deed of surrender

If you don’t formalise it correctly:

  • Tenant could take the money and stay
  • You’d still need to start eviction proceedings

5. Risk of “gaming the system”

Some tenants:

  • Agree, take partial payment
  • Then renegotiate or delay

This is more common than many landlords expect.

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