Error in tenancy agreement

hello_petal

I renewed my tenancy agreement in September. I had planned to renew every 6 months however when the renewal was due, the letting agent put pressure on me to renew for a year and I ended up signing for the year.

I looked over the contract tonight and the wording is as follows:
'Term: For the fixed term of six months, from and including the 24 September 2008, and expiring on the 24 September 2009'

It appears they have made a mistake with the wording 'six months' although the dates are for a 12 month period. I never noticed this at the time but ideally I would like to provide them with notice at the end of March (6 months) to leave the tenancy.

From a legal perspective, am I able to use their error to my advantage to leave the tenancy after six months?

Any advice is much appreciated.

poppysarah

A contract signed under duresss is not legally enforceble...


You probably can't get out of it early but if they charged you for renewing I'd be spitting feathers because clearly they don't earn their money at all.

hello_petal

I wanted to renew for 6 months simply for peace of mind - with the current climate I didnt want to over commit myself in case anything happened with my job. The letting agent asked if I would renew for 12 months as the landlord was having to pay fees each time I renewed. I didnt want to leave the property at the time so reluctantly agreed.

The rental prices appear to have fallen in my area recently and I now find myself paying inflated monthly rent in comparison to similar properties in the same area.

Going back to the contract, the term states 'For the fixed term of six months' then the dates for 12 months - conflicting information. I just wondered what would happen from a legal perspective what would happen if I were to give notice to the letting agent to leave the tenancy after 6 months?

poppysarah

You'd have to ring shelter.

Whether the landlord has to pay fees (to the LA) is irrelevant ... if you end up paying 6 months extra rent because you needed to move and were tied into a longer contract than you wanted.

N79

If it ever got as far as a court then the court would probably either:

1. Attempt to interpret which is the correct fixed term by trying to identify the intentions of the parties invovled. If you have any letters to the agent requesting 6 months or if they have any written correspondance with you stating 12 months etc.

Or

2. Decide to create a "standard" AST in the same manner as if there was no written agreement. This would lead to a fixed period of 6 months.

Only you can tell whether the agent could prove your intention of signing for 12 months which you clearly did, however reluctantly from your post. Also, from your post, the contract was not signed under duress so I would not bother exploring this avenue further.

tbs624

Welcome as a newbie poster, hello_petal

hello_petal wrote: »

I wanted to renew for 6 months .................. The letting agent asked if I would renew for 12 months as the landlord was having to pay fees each time I renewed. I didnt want to leave the property at the time so reluctantly agreed.

The LL can - & should- negotiate with the LA on fees payable for renewals, and he can also set those fees against rental income for tax purposes. It's not your problem. In any event, if you have been a reliable T then a LL/LA is not going to risk losing you for the sake of one of their spurious "renewals/admin fees" for doing b........ all. If a new T had to be found the LA would have to actually do some work, and both the LA and the LL then have to face the possibility of an expensive void period, plus they will then be dealing with a new unknown T who may or may not turn out to be as reliable as you were. (Too late for this tenancy renewal but perhaps worth bearing in mind for future ones)

On your specific questions I agree with N79's interpretation, but ring Shelter (as Poppysarah has suggested) 0808 800 4444 or talk to an experienced LL&T bod at the CAB or local law centre.

Dr._G-nome

Although this is going to be referred to a lawyer, I just wondered what people here thought.

Letting agent (who find tenant and reference them only - non managed) referenced a housing agency as the tenant, not the actual tenant (who they call "nominated tenant")

The AST states that the tenant is responsible for seeing out costs - but tenant/nominated tenant has not paid them.

The nominated tenant was a known criminal (housing agency knew this) who has caused 7000 pounds worth of damage to my property (deposit was 875 pounds!).

Letting agents are now saying that I must pay the bill for the tenants seeing out costs from the (now long gone on repairs) deposit and are threatening me with court. I've told them to seek it from the tenant.

Do you think the letting agents are trying it on ?
To my mind they are in part responsible for not referencing who was living in the house - which I paid them to do.

Any opinions please?

G-nome

tbs624

G-nome - it may be best to start a separate thread for your query, & you'll probably get more replies.

hello_petal

Thanks for your replies. I contacted the citizens advice re the contract and their response is as follows:

Thank you for your enquiry.

If a term is unclear in a tenancy agreement it should be construed as being in the tenants favour. Therefore, you should be able to assume the tenancy is for 6 months if you so choose. If you wish to bring your tenancy to end at the end of the initial 6-month term you must give the correct notice, this should be stated in your tenancy agreement. If there is no mention of this, you must give at least 40 days notice. If you do not give the correct notice your tenancy will automatically renew & you will not be able to end your tenancy until the next renewal date, again provided you give the correct notice, or the letting agent agrees to let you end the tenancy early.

tbs624

hello_petal wrote: »

.....If there is no mention of this, you must give at least 40 days notice. If you do not give the correct notice your tenancy will automatically renew & you will not be able to end your tenancy until the next renewal date, again provided you give the correct notice, or the letting agent agrees to let you end the tenancy early.

Are you in Scotland?