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Deposit after tenant dies

2

Comments

  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
    I think you're misreading the clause.

    That's the fee to end the tenancy. But rent being due until new tenant moves in is common.
  • Marvel1
    Marvel1 Posts: 7,171 Forumite
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    Am I right in thinking that since the rent is being paid, you are still entitled to keep the keys and enter the house to clean etc.
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    Deleted_User wrote: »
    The correspondence was all done by email or letter.

    My Mum wrote a letter and sent it in the post to give 1 month notice, enclosing the cheque for the final month's rent at the same time. The landlady replied by email thanking her for the cheque and asking for the various keys back. She then said on receipt of the keys she would arrange for the property check out to take place and in the meantime she would ask her agents to market the property. She didn't explicitly say she accepts notice to terminate the agreement but surely if she didn't accept it, she wouldn't be talking about the check out and marketing for new tenants.

    Thank you to all of you for your replies. I think we'll just leave it to the dispute resolution service and accept what they say.

    I think best case, you could argue that if the LL was able to relet the flat prior to the end of the tenancy, then that would mitigate the LL's losses and rent wouldn't be due until the statutory end of the tenancy but only until the new tenant comes in.
  • t0rt0ise
    t0rt0ise Posts: 4,276 Forumite
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    The notice thing is a red herring. It sounds as though the landlord didn't know what they were doing and said they'd accept notice and then looked it up and found that in fact they simply relet and charge rent until it lets. The adjudicator will have to decide whether the acceptance of notice trumps the usual rule.
  • Contessa
    Contessa Posts: 1,131 Forumite
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    I don't have the knowledge to give informaion or advice about this. All I can do is to send you my condolences and sympathy.
  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
    AnotherJoe wrote: »
    I think best case, you could argue that if the LL was able to relet the flat prior to the end of the tenancy, then that would mitigate the LL's losses and rent wouldn't be due until the statutory end of the tenancy but only until the new tenant comes in.



    Rent is a debt and therefore no obligation to mititgate, as no loss
  • booksurr
    booksurr Posts: 3,700 Forumite
    Guest101 wrote: »
    Rent is a debt and therefore no obligation to mititgate, as no loss
    agreed

    but neither can rent be taken for the same period from two different parties, so if relet to a new tenant, then the old tenant's deposit cannot be applied to a period's rent covered by the new tenant
  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
    booksurr wrote: »
    agreed

    but neither can rent be taken for the same period from two different parties, so if relet to a new tenant, then the old tenant's deposit cannot be applied to a period's rent covered by the new tenant



    I think there is often a confusion with this.


    it's impossible to rent the same property for the same period twice.


    Often the solution is outgoing tenant pays until incoming tenant moves in.


    The LL can in essence set whatever conditions they want to end a tenancy early.


    However sometimes the LL may simply say pay me £X to terminate the lease. Now X can be anything, millions if that's what the LL wants (obviously no-one is going to pay that)
  • always_sunny
    always_sunny Posts: 8,314 Forumite
    it's very sad circumstances however passing away does not extinguish debts by default and still need to be addressed.

    A signed AST on 09/07/16 would need to be paid till 08/07/17 from his estate. Even with a break clause, there is still 2 month notice so earlier release is March 17.

    What would you do if you were the LL? S/he may not have the extra cash to be sympathetic .
    Hopefully the LL will not charge you even more. I assume the flat needs to cleaned, etc before it can be relet.
    EU expat working in London
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    First Anniversary
    Just thought I'd come back to this and say the adjudicator ruled in our favour. He said that the landlord was not able to make a claim for loss of rent. We said the maximum she was entitled to 10% of the monthly rent for the rest of the tenancy to cover the re-letting costs - £540. The adjudicator said as the actual costs were £420, that's all we had to pay. So it was actually even better than we asked and the deposit was returned minus £420.

    Thanks to everyone who tried to help. It was definitely worth challenging it.
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