HELP! Emergency House Move - What Are My Rights?

idlanzakaria

The house I have been renting in has been found to be damaged (through no fault of my own or the landlord) so much so that it is no longer fit for living in, and as a result I have been asked to leave as soon as possible.

At the moment, I am renting through an agent, and the agent has been helping me find somewhere to live. The deal is that I take another house with the same agent, and the current contract for the property is considered void. In arranging for the new tenancy, I will not incur any charges given the circumstances, and the deposit for the new property will be transferred from the deposit for the old property.

However, none of the properties that I have been shown are to my liking, and what I would like to do is buy some time. Can I request to be released from the old contract without signing a new contract with the same agent? I do not want to be bullied into renting a house that is not convenient for me for work or within my price range just because they need to house me immediately - if needs be I will arrange my own accommodation in the meantime while I look more widely at what is available.

What are my rights in this case?

many thanks
Idlan

Fire_Fox

At present the landlord has a legal responsibility to find you alternative accommodation. You can request whatever you like but, if you are intending on ending a legally binding contract by mutual consent, I would strongly recommend you negotiate in writing by recorded deliveryso there are no misunderstandings. Wherever you rent next you will need to sign a new AST, which is a minimum of six months.

BitterAndTwisted

Please ensure that you are formally released from your contractual obligation with the current landlord exactly as Fire Fox has directed.

The current agents will naturally want to find you another property on their books to rent as they are going to be earing fees from their landlord to do so but you are under absolutely no obligation to rent another property from them unless it suits you.

theartfullodger

Most Landlord insurance policies cover providing emergency accomodation in circumstances like this. I'd ask that you are put up temporarily at LL's expense until a suitable property becomes available, and you get confirmation that the existing tenancy is surrendered... However, be careful & don't find you're in a half-way house (literally & metaphorically) and the Landlord then declines to supply a new tenancy...

Sorry to hear your story...

Lodger

bitsandpieces

Unless I'm getting confused, your contract is with the Landlord of your current (now unsuitable) place. I'm not sure why they would want to insist that you ultimately rent with one agent rather than another (the rent will go to the Landlord of the place you rent, not to them). Can you discuss this direct with your Landlord, rather than agent?

idlanzakaria

Thank you everyone. In response to your individual queries / comments:

I have been put up in a hotel paid for by the LL's insurance company in the meantime. On the whole, apart from the loss adjuster being extremely slow in confirming the damage, everything has been above board.

My agreement is with the landlord, bitsandpieces (I just checked) so you are right - there should be no obligation for me to continue to use the same agent.

I have been doing some research over the weekend and found out some things that I was not told by the landlord or the agent.

For instance, the LL cannot demand me to move out immediately: I have two months to do so under AST rules. It is just in my personal interest that I want to move out immediately anyway.

I was not aware of this - or that I could arrange my own accomodation / a new tenancy with a different party. Last Friday I saw a property which is out of my normal price bracket; plus very inconvenient for work as it has limited public transport access but as I thought I had to move out immediately, I told the agent who showed me round that I'd take the property. I haven't signed anything yet although I have been told the landlord has agreed to my letting it. Now, having learnt that I actually have time to shop around (legally, two months!) I rang the LA and left a message to tell them I no longer want the property, requesting a meeting on Monday to discuss finer details of other options available to me which were not discussed when I was told I needed to move out.

What I want to do is this: get written confirmation that I have been released from the old contract for the damaged property, and confirm that I will move out as soon as possible (I have started packing) before the two months are up anyway. My fear is that while I haven't signed anything, the LA will say my saying "I'll take it" on Friday constitutes a legal contract and I am stuck with this property I don't really want! My defence is that I was not made aware of my options and was obligated to take what was left on offer. They haven't given me any keys, or any of that: they can't make me move in regardless if I haven't signed a contract, can they?

DVardysShadow

You can quite reasonably insist that when you said "I'll take it", you meant in fulfilment of the original contract. Just confirm in writing that you will take it in fulfilment of the original contract - don't cloud the water by conceding you could have meant anything else

silvercar

You won't be obliged to take a contract you haven't signed. You may however be obliged to continue paying rent on your current place (albeit in alternative accommodation) until your notice period is up.

Athough a landlord needs to give 2 months notice a tenant only needs to give a month on a periodic contract (both to end at the end of a rent period.)