Tenancy Agreement Break Clause

kkk79_2

Dear All,
I have been renting my present flat now for the last 13 months. I signed a tenancy aggrement for a period of 3 years and expires in 2011. I have found another flat which is a lot closer to work and is bigger and even though it would cost me a bit more in rent, I would be willing to pay that extra for what I am getting. The problem is my present agreement goes right up to 2011. I read through the contract last night and couldn't see anything relating to a break clause in the agreement and I'm not sure what my chances are of ending this agreement. I must admit when I moved into this flat, I was careless and didn't take full note of all the terms of the agreement before getting myself into it; a mistake I have learnt from. Can anyone give me any suggestions of what my options could be? Thanks.

N79

Where are you located (E&W or Scotland / NI)?

Can you confirm that whether the tenancy is for exactly 3 years or some other period of around 3 years (this is important)?

Finally, can you confirm if there were any witnesses present when you and your LL signed the tenancy and did they also sign to say that they witnessed the signatures?

kkk79_2

I'm in England and the tenancy agreement is for exactly 3 years. I did everything through a LA and so have never actually met the LL in person. However, when i signed the papers back then, I did it in the presence of the LA. Does that count as a witness?

N79

No - presumably the LA signed on behalf of the LL. They are not a witness.

The first option would be to find a new T which is acceptable to the LL and ask them to release you from the contract early with you paying the LL's costs associated with a change in T. This would be the same as any other T wanting to break the terms of their contract.

And now onto the questions. ASTs can have a fixed period of more or less any length (there are limits) but ASTs with a fixed period of 3 years or longer need to be executed as a deed. You tenancy was clearly not executed as a deed as a deed would have needed witnesses to the signatures. If you want to explore whether this route gives you any options you would need to seek legal advice on the impact that this has on the enforceability of the tenancy agreement (and hence the fixed term). This may, of course, be more expensive than option 1 and may not lead to the conclusion that you hope for.

clutton_2

the first thing is to tell your LA that you want to leave and ask them to discuss it with your LL

Planner

I think the 'Deed' issue is a deadend. My understanding is that tenancys of more than 3 years need to be executed as a deed, tenancys of 3 years or less dont.

N79

Without doing some research I can not remember if it is "3 years or more" or "more than 3 years". I mentioned it as an avenue that the OP could explore if they want.

kkk79_2

Thanks everyone for your input. I'll go to the LA tomorrow morning and see if I can discuss what my options are. I have also advertised the flat on a couple of sites (i don't know if this is legal as it isn't my flat) but if I could find a tenant as suggested by N79 (and with a bit of luck, maybe get them to pay slightly more than I'm paying lol), I could put the cards on the table with my LA. I will keep you guys posted on how I get on. Any more suggestions are welcomed. Would you guys suggest its better signing leases with shorter terms or would you suggest its better to sign one with a clear break clause stipulated in the agreement?

Jowo_2

If the Deed angle is a dead end, what you've got is a legally binding contract that the landlord does not have to cancel unless they want to.

If they consent, you can probably expect to pay any admin costs associated with reletting it early, such as advertising fees, and payment of the rent until the new tenant moves in. It's common for landlords to expect the outgoing tenant to mitigate any losses and not take the hit themselves from releasing someone early from their agreement.

kkk79_2

Jowo wrote: »

If the Deed angle is a dead end, what you've got is a legally binding contract that the landlord does not have to cancel unless they want to.

If they consent, you can probably expect to pay any admin costs associated with reletting it early, such as advertising fees, and payment of the rent until the new tenant moves in. It's common for landlords to expect the outgoing tenant to mitigate any losses and not take the hit themselves from releasing someone early from their agreement.

Sounds fair enough as I wouldn't want to bear the costs if I was a LL either. Ok, I understand these fees would vary from LA to LA but does any one have any rough idesa as to how much this could come up to?

Jowo_2

kkk79 wrote: »

Sounds fair enough as I wouldn't want to bear the costs if I was a LL either. Ok, I understand these fees would vary from LA to LA but does any one have any rough idesa as to how much this could come up to?

Sorry no - perhaps in the case of advertising costs, these could be zero if they've already got someone on their books who is interested, low if the agents use local papers and Gumtree/Loot and high if they use something like Findaproperty.com.

Hopefully, someone who has been in this situation can give them an idea of any expenses they've paid out when they've asked for a current AST to be cancelled.