Help with my landlord

llol_slim

I hope someone can help me
My and my girflfriend have been renting a house and we are in our third 6 month contract.
When we took out the most recent contract, I was asked if I wanted to do month by month or 6 months. I asked if it made a difference and was told no, if I wanted to cancel, I could still give a months notice and it would be fine.
Of course, none of this was on paper :mad:
Of course, now we want to move out but our contract doesnt end until september. I rang up to ask what happens and they have said we can only move out in a months notice if they manage to get someone else to take over the contract otherwise we are responsible for the remaining months.
As far as i know, this isnt made clear in the contract (although its bound to be!).
We REALLY want out because its expensive and HORRIBLE and where we will be going is so much nicer.
Is there anything I can do???
Thanks in advance
Laurie

xela_17

Did you remind the landlord what he said only 2 months ago? Did he deny saying it?

llol_slim

oh yes .. it was a "no you misunderstood me.. WHat I meant was you can give a months notice but you are still responsible for the remaining months unless we can find someone to take over the tenancy"

xela_17

Will it be difficult to find someone to move in? We had the same problem with our landlord but all that happened was that we were responsible for putting the advert in loot, taking calls and doing viewings. Once we found someone to rent it we gave them the landlord's number. Job done.

Tassotti

Sure, but did you do reference/credit checks on the new tenants?

llol_slim

xela_17 wrote:

Will it be difficult to find someone to move in? We had the same problem with our landlord but all that happened was that we were responsible for putting the advert in loot, taking calls and doing viewings. Once we found someone to rent it we gave them the landlord's number. Job done.

well thats all we can hope for, but to be honest, it isnt a very nice place..
And does that also mean that people are going to be looking round out house?
If thats the case maybe we should move out straight away and then the house is empty.. I dont fancy randoms walking round my home

lynzpower

At the end of the day, even if you gave your LL a months notice I expect they would have people viewing, what do you want to do, stuff the LL completely?

Have you only ever viewed empty houses then?

I think thats a bit unfair, you are talking about possibly reneging on an agreement, then not allowing the LL or anyone else to do viewings.

Dead_Eye_Jones

do a runner

god knows why you agreed to a 3rd 6month term, after a year surely you knew what the place was like, I think you deserve to stay in the place!

Tassotti

Don't do a runner. The Landlord has supplied you with a place to live in. Treat him with the respect that you would expect.

However, if the place is as bad as you say, why sign a 6 month contract again and again?

Just because you feel now that you are not happy in the place, DO NOT stitch up the LL/

Old_No.7

Hi there, I think you're being unfair here too: landlords get a lot of bad press (and often with reason) but this is just a straightforward breaking-a-contract situation: you break it, you pay for it. He's offering you an alternative (find someone to take over the lease), so you can't say fairer than that. The main difference between the 6 months tenancy and the month by month (rolling) one, in that the landlord can't chuck you out for the duration of the 6 months, but he can on a rolling contract. So normally you'd weigh up the pros and cons for yourself before signing a contract: peace of mind for 6 months, or have some uncertainty (i.e. you might get a months notice to move out at some point) but be more flexible (if you are that unhappy with the place, you would have thought of this as the preferable option, I would have thought?). Maybe your landlord should have made it clearer, but if this is your 3rd 6-month contract, you probably should be a bit more clued on by now: it's a very common contract, not a rip-off if that's what you think. Most landlords wouldn't have given you the month-by-month option so you can't really blame him if you then go with the other, restricted option.

Look on the bright side: you've taken the property over a year ago and stayed there this long: what makes you think someone else might not do the same? With showing people round yourself you have more chance of 'selling' it to them (rather than leaving it to an uninterested estate agent or landlord who will get paid anyhow: if not by the new tenants then by you), and you'll always be there to keep an eye on things when strangers are in your house. It might be fun, and if you're a bit messy (like me) it's a good excuse to keep things neat and tidy for a bit: always nice when you have the place to yourself again. Think of all the positive things, as you'll have to be a bit more enthusiastic about the place if you want to find someone to take over this lease!

Good luck with it, it's really a lot easier than you seem to think!

lynzpower

I agree, you have chosen to renew your contract, not once but twice. You have seen something better value for money and now you are trying to get out of the contract a couple of weeks later.

If the property is as bad as you suggest, Id get enviromental health to make a decision as to whether its fit for human habitation.

You have signed a contract to pay your LL the money, as I understand it, whether you live there or not. In my experience, LLs will track you down and get the money out of you, or at least stuff you when other letting agents etc use that checking system. Wont you need a LLs reference for the new place anyway?