Advice Needed Please

clare1076

We moved into a rented house at the beginning of June and since then my husband and i have been having problems and have now decided to seperate amicably, the problem is i won't be able to afford to rent the property on my own as i have two small children. I recently lost my mum to cancer and my dad has said i can move in with him until i can sort out a place off the council and my husband will be living with his mum. My problem is we have signed a 12 month tenancy agreement and have only been there 3 months, the landlord hasn't give us a copy of the agreement as it wasn't witnessed at the time of signing so i can't remember what it says in it. I know for a fact that the landlord is not wanting another tennant for the property as it was up for sale and we said we would look at buying after the 12 months tenancy but things have changed. I simply can't afford to stay and need the deposit back, we have carpeted the house right through which cost us £1000 and fitted a new cooker which we will be leaving.

Will he legally be able to make us pay the remainder of the tenancy?

I'm worried and need to move out asap.

Any advice would be hugely welcomed. Thank you.

LandyAndy

clare1076 wrote: »

We moved into a rented house at the beginning of June and since then my husband and i have been having problems and have now decided to seperate amicably, the problem is i won't be able to afford to rent the property on my own as i have two small children. I recently lost my mum to cancer and my dad has said i can move in with him until i can sort out a place off the council and my husband will be living with his mum. My problem is we have signed a 12 month tenancy agreement and have only been there 3 months, the landlord hasn't give us a copy of the agreement as it wasn't witnessed at the time of signing so i can't remember what it says in it. I know for a fact that the landlord is not wanting another tennant for the property as it was up for sale and we said we would look at buying after the 12 months tenancy but things have changed. I simply can't afford to stay and need the deposit back, we have carpeted the house right through which cost us £1000 and fitted a new cooker which we will be leaving.

Will he legally be able to make us pay the remainder of the tenancy?

I'm worried and need to move out asap.

Any advice would be hugely welcomed. Thank you.

Essentially, yes, and each of you is liable for the full amount. You 've signed a contract and he can hold you to it ( I assume you both signed the contract). I believe he is under an obligation to mitigate his losses if possible by trying to obtain another tenant.

clutton_2

"" Will he legally be able to make us pay the remainder of the tenancy?"" - the quick answer is yes he can.

first thing is to ask him for a copy of the tenancy agreement - there could be a "break clause" in it.

but - if you move in with your dad you will have reduced your ability to get a council house

if you are in rent arrears you will have reduced your ability to get a council house - as if the landlord evicts you for rent arrears you will be deemed as "having made yourself homeless" and will not be eligible for re-housing by the council

could you get a lodger in ?

why cant your husband help with the rent - they are his children after all ?

Premier_2

You can ask the LL to consider ending the TA early.

The LL may agree, but usually on terms such as paying the marketing and associated costs of re-letting the property. If it was let on a 12 month term, he could still let it for a period of 6-9 months, depending on how quickly new tenants could move in. Expect to pay rent as a minimum until new tenants are in place.

You will get the deposit back after you move out and after allowable delapidations (if any)

With regards to the carpet & cooker, you can take these with you when you leave - don't expect the LL to pay for them but he may offer you a small sum in return for you leaving them if it benefits him - but don't expect much.

clare1076

clutton wrote: »

"" Will he legally be able to make us pay the remainder of the tenancy?"" - the quick answer is yes he can.

first thing is to ask him for a copy of the tenancy agreement - there could be a "break clause" in it.

but - if you move in with your dad you will have reduced your ability to get a council house

if you are in rent arrears you will have reduced your ability to get a council house - as if the landlord evicts you for rent arrears you will be deemed as "having made yourself homeless" and will not be eligible for re-housing by the council

could you get a lodger in ? - i don't think i'd like this my children are 4 and 1 and i wouldn't like a stranger in the house.

why cant your husband help with the rent - they are his children after all ?

- I know there his children but we also have a loan and a car on hp so he will be paying for these himself.

house184

If neither you nor your (ex) partner have claimed housing benefit in the last 52 weeks and when you moved into the property you could afford it then there is no rent restriction for housing benefit purposes for 13 weeks. If you are on a means tested benefit such as IS or non contribution based JSA you should get the whole of the rent paid for 13 weeks. Even if you're not on such benefits you can still claim HB to help and by the sounds of it you will be entitled to something.

Additionally even if the rent restriction does apply then it's still worth claiming in my opinion. You might also be able to claim a discretionary housing payment.

This might be helpful to you especially if there is a break clause in your 12 month tenancy agreement (which may let you end it after 6 months or more).

Is your deposit protected?

Oh another thing is that affordability is one thing that a Local Authority must consider (as per the Suitability of Accommodation Order 1996 SI 1996 no.3204) if you go to them and say that you are homeless because it's not reasonable for you to continue to occupy your current accommodation as you cannot afford it they should assist you. There's a lot more to this bit of advice so I'd suggest you maybe seek assistance from a Community Legal Service housing adviser if you can find one (google CLS directory).

moneysavinmonkey

clare1076 wrote: »

- I know there his children but we also have a loan and a car on hp so he will be paying for these himself.

priorities should be putting a roof over his children's head before paying off debts.

I suggest before you do anything you research all your options - find out about availability of council housing (how long is the waiting list) and the implications of your living with your dad on your place on the list etc.

Talk with hubbie about helping out with rent - if he is not going to be living with his children then technically child maintenance could be claimed.

Get a copy of your rental agreement + make friendly enquiries with Landlord about options for ending the agreement early.

If you are unsure about your rights/responsibilities shelter generally give good legal advice on housing issues:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/renting_and_leasehold/ending_a_tenancy_or_licence