Tenants Question about ending a contract early

mannaroth

Greetings Moneysavers!

I am a student who recently found a nice house to live in as of July 2010. My girlfriend and I intend to live in this one bedroom house and have already signed the Tenancy Agreement; we have not yet completed our guarantor forms or paid any of the deposit, however I was informed that our signatures on the Agreement will legally bind us to the property.

Now the problem is this; my girlfriend's parents are causing a fuss about us living in a one bedroom property in case we end up splitting up - a valid concern for parents to have indeed. They are refusing to sign the guarantor form for her side. They are convinced that we can breach the Tenancy Agreement now and only incur a £50 signing fee; I am not convinced they are correct. They also think that if we move in and then split up, the fee to allow us to leave will be £300.

I do not want to give up this property, so I want to prove her parents wrong. Ideally, I want to know if we do move in and then break up, if the landlord is likely to be willing to relocate us to a two bedroom property (obviously subject to availability and payment of the difference in price), or if we are even allowed to break the agreement at this stage.

Help from someone that knows their stuff would be appreciated! Thanks.

clutton_2

i am a LL of 10 years standing.


Under normal tenancy agreement, then yes, you are legally correct, once you have signed the agreement you AND your girlfriend, AND the LL are all legally bound to it.... you and she have agreed to pay the rent for the full fixed term, (unless there is a break clause in the agreement).

if you love this girl so much, then why not go ahead with the agreement anyway ?

if you want to back out - then the LL does not have to let you surrender this tenancy, however, if he is willing to accept an early surrender, then he is legally allowed to charge you rent until the end of the fixed period, or until he gets another suitable tenant - whichever comes first. He is also allowed to charge you all the fees/advertising/agency costs which he incurs in finding a new tenant.

Having said all that - because you have signed an agreement 7 months ahead of time, i dont know if the above rules apply

post this on www.landlordzone.co.uk - there are L&Tenant solicitors on there who may well give you the definitive answer...

franklee

There is no tenancy yet, the tenancy doesn't start until the tenant takes up occupation, so at the moment what the OP has is an agreement signed by at least some of the parties that there will be a tenancy in future.

mannaroth, If the landlord objects to the lack of guarantors as your girlfriend's parents are refusing to sign the form then it's likely the landlord will pull out anyway. So if the landlord hasn't yet signed I don't see why you can't pull out as he can't go on holding you to an agreement he isn't bound to. If both you and the landlord have signed then I'd think the tenancy can go ahead without the guarantors as the landlord is bound like you are and should have put the guarantors in place first if he wanted them.

Also relevant is the fact you haven't yet paid, that may mean there isn't a contract as yet so I think your girlfriends's parents have a good point. I don't agree with their leaving fee after you've taken up occupation though as then you would be bound for the whole term.

I agree you should post on landlordzone, they are much better on the legal details that are often posted wrongly here, even by longstanding landlords.

A for the relocation, does the landlord even have two bedroom properties? If so why not ask for a swap now as in future they may all be occupied.

PS: Don't hand in your parent's guarantor forms till this is sorted or they may be liable for the whole lot!

mannaroth

Thanks very much for the reply. Yeah I would just go ahead and do it, but i'd rather maintain peace with the parents and avoid any unnecessary arguments and fights.

Do you know what legal document this information is in so I can reference it if necessary?

Thanks again. I'll post on that forum too.

Colincbayley

Franklee is correct. A tenancy is only created once you have the keys to the property and moved in. The fact of just signing a tenancy agreement on it's own does not create a tenancy.

As it stands at this moment in time you can just pull out of the agreement if you so wish.

DVardysShadow

Colincbayley wrote: »

Franklee is correct. A tenancy is only created once you have the keys to the property and moved in. The fact of just signing a tenancy agreement on it's own does not create a tenancy.

As it stands at this moment in time you can just pull out of the agreement if you so wish.

I think that advice is only partially correct. If you pull out now, as there is no tenancy, none of the AST legislation kicks in. But Contract law still applies to the extent that the AST can be upheld as a contract.

franklee

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I think that advice is only partially correct. If you pull out now, as there is no tenancy, none of the AST legislation kicks in. But Contract law still applies to the extent that the AST can be upheld as a contract.

I don't see it can be upheld if the landlord hasn't signed and I'd be surprised if he has given the OP said "we have not yet completed our guarantor forms". Otherwise it'd be a shoot in the foot job as the landlord couldn't then insist on any guarantors after the event.

Also a contract needs consideration, which probably means payment, yet the OP says he hasn't paid any deposit.

But as I said, the legal bods on llz are the best place to be asking.

DVardysShadow

franklee wrote: »

I don't see it can be upheld if the landlord hasn't signed and I'd be surprised if he has given the OP said "we have not yet completed our guarantor forms". Otherwise it'd be a shoot in the foot job as the landlord couldn't then insist on any guarantors after the event.

Landlord could keep AST in his pocket and if he has a void, he could sign

franklee wrote: »

Also a contract needs consideration, which probably means payment, yet the OP says he hasn't paid any deposit.

But as I said, the legal bods on llz are the best place to be asking.

The question of consideration is technical, - broadly as I understand it, the contract is enforceable by anyone who has made consideration, but not by the other side unless they too have made consideration. So if OP does not pay deposit, OP cannot enforce BUT if LL keeps property available, he has provided consideration and can enforce.

Basically, I stand by my position, which is that if the Tenancy does not start, then Tenancy Law might not kick in. But the deal should now be agreed to be void in order to close down the route for a contract law claim.

mannaroth

One of the employees that works for the landlord signed the tenancy agreement immedately after we did, i'm certain of that.

franklee

mannaroth wrote: »

One of the employees that works for the landlord signed the tenancy agreement immedately after we did, i'm certain of that.

How very odd that they would do that before you paid the deposit. Normally a landlord would want cleared funds in before they sign the tenancy agreement as otherwise the tenant could turn round and refuse to pay the deposit. If it really is signed by both sides before the guarantors forms were filled in then you could just tell them there will be no guarantors.

Do you have the fully signed document? If not what I'd do first is ask for a copy of the tenancy agreement signed by both you and the landlord's agent. That way you will have something concrete to work with.

franklee

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Landlord could keep AST in his pocket and if he has a void, he could sign

For how long do you think he could do that in the case where a tenancy isn't due to start for seven months? Are you really saying a tenant who signed first could be left in limbo for the seven months not knowing if the tenancy will be starting, unable to go elsewhere in case the landlord signs the contract to make it binding yet the landlord could still pull out. Sorry but I don't think so.

DVardysShadow wrote: »

The question of consideration is technical, - broadly as I understand it, the contract is enforceable by anyone who has made consideration, but not by the other side unless they too have made consideration. So if OP does not pay deposit, OP cannot enforce BUT if LL keeps property available, he has provided consideration and can enforce.

I'd suggest landlord just keeping the property empty isn't something of value being passed, whereas payment of a deposit is.

What do you think in relation to this:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=44083&postcount=2