Another Student with Tenancy Problem: In need of Urgent Advice

TG82

My problem very much in a nutshell is as follows:

4 of us, including myself, moved into a flat in London on 3/10 and very soon afterwards one of my flatmates came out covered in red lumps which were found to be a result of bed bugs. I am not affected.

He and one of the others now wants to leave. The landlord has said that we all need to either stay or go, unless the two remaining tenants (one of them myself) would be willing to cover the rent shortfall. Obviously this would not be possible for either of us. The landlord is willing to let us jointly terminate the contract and pay us back our deposits.

(Incidentally, the landlord emailed us to apologise for not informing us of the bed bug problem before we moved in! So, we have the evidence that she deceived us - she claimed the agency advised her not to tell us.)

At the moment I do not want to leave unless I really have to. There is much more to this story, but I don't want to detract from what I need to find out about.

So the following is what I want to know about:

If I signed a tenancy agreement and honoured it with payments on the dates agreed, can a landlord legally kick me out when it was HER fault that my flatmates felt forced to leave? Surely that cannot be fair, even if she's willing to pay my deposit?

Legally would I have an argument to stay and simply pay my share of the rent? Between the four of us we have agreed the price of my room, but it is not written in the contract, which simply asks for a total amount from the 4 of us each per calendar month.

The contract does indeed say that we're liable if somebody moves out, and it is a joint contract, but surely this is an exceptional circumstance because the landlord misled us and we have evidence?

What she intends to do, no doubt, is get rid of us and then sell the tenancy to 4 other mugs who won't be told about the bed bug problem in advance either.

Any helpful advice both practically or legally would be most helpful

BitterAndTwisted

Your tenancy agreement aside: if your other flatmates move out they need to be VERY CAREFUL about their packing as they certainly would not want to take the bedbugs with them to their new accommodation. This is very easy to do and is most probably how the place became infested in the first place. That you are not being bitten is extremely doubtful: it's just that some people don't react to the bites in the same way.

TG82

Hi,

Yeah we are acutely aware of the danger of taking them with us.

As for whether I've been bitten, I'm not sure. It's so difficult to tell. I've no bite marks on me, and I've come across no evidence of them in my room. I was given a new bed and mattress before I moved in, so maybe that's why.

However, I have been itching a lot this last few days. Maybe I'm being bitten? Or maybe it's psychosomatic and my head is infested?

So you're saying it would be easier for me to move?

My problem is I actually really like that flat in terms of location, the fact it's light, and it's actually pretty clean. Affordable too. I don't think I'll necessarily get any better on my budget. I've lived with mice and cockroaches before, so the thought of being bitten once or twice bothers me little, so long as I'm not crawling.

Anybody's thoughts?

[Deleted User]

I'm assuming you have rented the flat 'furnished'.

Therefore, as you have proof that the bedbug problem was there before you moved in, surely the lanlord must solve the problem to the satisfaction of all of you.

I would be tempted to ask/tell the landlord to replace the mattresses/beds and fumigate the rooms, thus removing the need for anyone to move out!

JPW

BitterAndTwisted

If there are bedbugs in the flat then I can pretty much guarantee that you are being bitten but are not reacting to the bites.

Another way of looking at this, if you do like that flat and are sure you won't be able to find anything similar at the same rent is to discuss with your landlord about how to go about eradicating them

DVardysShadow

TG82 wrote: »

If I signed a tenancy agreement and honoured it with payments on the dates agreed, can a landlord legally kick me out when it was HER fault that my flatmates felt forced to leave? Surely that cannot be fair, even if she's willing to pay my deposit?

Leave aside fairness, you answer it below

Legally would I have an argument to stay and simply pay my share of the rent? Between the four of us we have agreed the price of my room, but it is not written in the contract, which simply asks for a total amount from the 4 of us each per calendar month.

She is not party to the agreement between the 4 of you

The contract does indeed say that we're liable if somebody moves out, and it is a joint contract, but surely this is an exceptional circumstance because the landlord misled us and we have evidence?

As you say, the contract is 'joint and several'. You do not want to get into the position of having another tenant imposed if you learned anything from the Student trying to get out of a tenancy agreement thread. You are lucky that there is an option to move out. Make your choice as a group of 4 tenants, either leave or stay together. If some leave but the rest stay, legally, the those leaving still have to pay.

Jowo_2

When it comes to a joint tenancy agreement, it's important to understand that it operates as if there was a single tenant there.

From the perspective of the tenants, they often see themselves in the plural. However, at a legal level, there is simply a single tenant - when one individual gives notice, it's as if its been given by all.

By the sounds of it, your fellow tenants have asked to surrender the tenancy and the landlord has consented to this, therefore the tenancy is being properly ended.

Any tenants that don't wish to move out have to negotiate a new tenancy with the landlord.

You have no grounds to stay on and pay just your share of the rent - by remaining in the property after your fellow tenants have left, the tenancy actually continues under the existing terms and conditions and therefore full rent continues to be due.

DVardysShadow

Jowo wrote: »

... From the perspective of the tenants, they often see themselves in the plural. However, at a legal level, there is simply a single tenant

I am with you this far

- when one individual gives notice, it's as if its been given by all.

I don't think that necessarily applies out of 'Joint and Several', there may be other reasons why that could apply. There is certainly a difference too between 1 of N tenants saying "I am leaving" and the same tenant saying "We are terminating the tenancy" - which arises from your point about tenants mistakenly seeing themselves in the plural.

TG82

Anybody want to add to this?

I still find it hard to believe I have not a leg to stand on and HAVE to move out because rooms much further down the corridor from mine are infested with bed bugs. Even with evidence in writing from the landlord that the agency advised her not to tell us about the bed bugs.

I am probably going to leave, incidentally, but I want to know whether I would have a reasonable case if I decided I wanted to stay.

It sounds not?

Jowo_2

DVardysShadow wrote: »

There is certainly a difference too between 1 of N tenants saying "I am leaving" and the same tenant saying "We are terminating the tenancy" - which arises from your point about tenants mistakenly seeing themselves in the plural.

As far as I was aware, if one tenant that belongs to a jointly signed tenancy ends the agreement, the agreement ends for all, including through surrendering it early if the landlord consents to this. By the sounds of it. In this particular instance, 2 out of 4 tenants want to end the tenancy.

However, I have to say that I find the Shelter website wording a bit confusing on this so it might be worth clarifying it with them.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/renting_and_leasehold/renting_agreements#6