Eviction or keep tennant.

[Skill]

Hi guys,

I have a bit of long story but i will try and make it quick.!

I live in south london and have recently accepted an offer on my 3 bed house and am now waiting for completion date.

I also had put my flat on the market located in east london with the tennant still living there(no issues with tennant before) and the council pays his rent.
When it was time to sell the flat and get viewers through the door he has been very difficult ie:- phone not answering, cancelling viewers at last minute, sky dish fitted, even changed locks on door!(saying the last one snapped in door)

We have been informed from our managing agents that the tennant does want to stay there and has even complained to housing officer saying hes being harressed.
We have offered to pay for a deposit for him to move to another property but he said we have to evict him as he wants to stay as close to family.

The property has been taken off the market untill we decide what to do..in hindsight we should have sold flat first and then put our property on the market but we were hoping no issues would arrive and the profit from the flat sale would be very helpful in the move to the next house we are interested in as the finances are extremely tight at the moment.

The other option is once our house is sold we move back into my parents, save funds and start eviction process as we cant afford to pay two mortages with the flat empty.

Has anyone had any issues with evicting tennants?
Is it worth keeping tennant as council pay rent and get a better fixed two year deal?
How long would eviction process take?