End of tenancy hell :-(

bubbles24_2

Hi,

I am writing this on behalf of my BF, i hope someone can help.

He lived in a shared house with two other lads for 1 year, the contract for this ended on the 5th march. He gave 1 months written notice that he wishes to leave on the 5th of february and moved out on the last day of his contract.

As the other two lads have reapplied for their own contract to stay in the house the agency are saying they need to sort out the bond money between themselves and provide letters saying the room was left in a good condition and that my BF has had his bond money back.

This should be fairly straight forward but as usual these things never go to plan! :mad:

There is some damage to his bedroom door which happened when the door locked itself one day. A key wasn't provided for this and as he couldn't get hold of anyone at the agency so he had to break in. He reported this at the time and the agency didn't tell him to fix it or replace it as there is just a little crack down the side and the door still works.

The day after he moves out he gets a phone call from one of them saying they have had a carpenter come round and it will cost £140 to replace! When he said ok get it done and we'll sort out signing over the bond he was told 'no, we'll just take the money out of your bond'. So he is expected to let them take this out of his money without any proof of the quote or seeing that the work has been done.

Since then I have contacted a carpenter and have been given a rough quote of £50! The carpenter has tried to contact them to arrange access to sort the door but they seem to be dodging him.

They also seem to be under the impression that they can take off money for everyday he still has his keys even though they are refusing him access to the house!

When he went in to the agency to try and sort this mess out he tried to give them the keys and was told that he is still liable for the rent as the other two are still in the house without a new contract. Even when he pointed out that he gave a months notice in writing and that the contract has ended they were still insisting that they are right! This concerns me a great deal as my mum is his guarentor.

I'm sorry I know this is a long read and I've tried to include everything but i'm just so angry at the moment! My BF has been a good tennant and left the room clean and tidy (I should know because I did it! ) I dont know why they would leave something so important down to those two idiots!

I hope someone can help. he just wants it all sorted so he can move on.

Thanks :beer:

Jowo_2

Speak to Shelter.

My understanding is that when a joint tenant legitimately service notice, the tenancy ends for all and it is up to the remaining tenants to negotiate a new tenancy with the landlord. The failure of your boyfriend to return the key is a problem.

However, I have read threads on this topic on Landlord forums where some posters have claimed that in a joint tenancy, the rental obligation continues if all the tenants do not move out as possession of the property has not been given back to the landlord, as does not giving the key back because the law assumes the tenancy is continuing and the tenant can take back residency at any time.

The law doesn't require a tenant to give notice to end a fixed term contract - they can just leave - but a contract will often stipulate this so the landlord is aware of their intention. Why didn't your boyfriend hand back the key on the 5th, did he give his notice in writing and keep a copy, perhaps send it recorded delivery (i.e. does he have proof he gave notice)? Is the agency saying they didn't receive his notice?

Fire_Fox

bubbles24 wrote: »

Hi,

I am writing this on behalf of my BF, i hope someone can help.

He lived in a shared house with two other lads for 1 year, the contract for this ended on the 5th march. He gave 1 months written notice that he wishes to leave on the 5th of february and moved out on the last day of his contract.

5th of February to 5th of March is one month and one day not one month. Can you double check the dates the tenancy started and finished? If you stay one day over you are legally liable for another month of rent!

bubbles24 wrote: »

As the other two lads have reapplied for their own contract to stay in the house the agency are saying they need to sort out the bond money between themselves and provide letters saying the room was left in a good condition and that my BF has had his bond money back.

This should be fairly straight forward but as usual these things never go to plan! :mad:

If this is a joint tenancy your boyfriend can end the tenancy for all parties. If the other housemates refuse to leave then they will all be jointly liable for the rent until they are evicted. If there was a written agreement for the other housemates to start a new tenancy then a new agreement should have been drawn up without your boyfriend's name on and the old one cancelled.

Not convinced it is legal to delegate returning the bond to the other housemates as the landlord is responsible for the safe keeping and return of this. Having said that it is debatable whether the tenancy has ended and therefore whether the deposit is due back. Was the deposit not lodged in one of the three schemes? Has your boyfriend raised an official dispute with the scheme?

bubbles24 wrote: »

There is some damage to his bedroom door which happened when the door locked itself one day. A key wasn't provided for this and as he couldn't get hold of anyone at the agency so he had to break in. He reported this at the time and the agency didn't tell him to fix it or replace it as there is just a little crack down the side and the door still works.

The day after he moves out he gets a phone call from one of them saying they have had a carpenter come round and it will cost £140 to replace! When he said ok get it done and we'll sort out signing over the bond he was told 'no, we'll just take the money out of your bond'. So he is expected to let them take this out of his money without any proof of the quote or seeing that the work has been done.

Since then I have contacted a carpenter and have been given a rough quote of £50! The carpenter has tried to contact them to arrange access to sort the door but they seem to be dodging him.

Your boyfriend is responsible for any damage he caused to the property, he should have got a locksmith OR repaired the door. Once he has surrendered the tenancy your boyfriend has no right to send his own contractors in to do any cleaning or repairs. The letting agency can take the cost from his damage deposit - that is what it is for!!

Equally your boyfriend can ask to see the receipt; if he has raised a dispute on the deposit then the letting agency will have to submit evidence of the damage and the cost of the repair to the arbitrators. It is interesting that the letting agency appear to have been into the property when they claim the tenancy still stands. They can't really have it both ways.
http://www.themovechannel.com/guides/Letting/Being_a_landlord/Landlord_and_tenant_rights/

bubbles24 wrote: »

They also seem to be under the impression that they can take off money for everyday he still has his keys even though they are refusing him access to the house!

When he went in to the agency to try and sort this mess out he tried to give them the keys and was told that he is still liable for the rent as the other two are still in the house without a new contract. Even when he pointed out that he gave a months notice in writing and that the contract has ended they were still insisting that they are right! This concerns me a great deal as my mum is his guarentor.

Why has your boyfriend still got the keys?? He has not surrendered the tenancy until he has returned the keys so he is indeed still liable for the rent. Do not go into or telephone the agency, deal with this whole sorry affair in writing by recorded delivery. You need a paper trail of evidence starting with submitting his notice and ending with raising a dispute with the deposit protection scheme.

custardy

just a side note,do not return any keys via recorded delivery
use special delivery if you are posting them

bubbles24_2

Thank you for your replies, i will speek to shelter.

the tenancy started on 5th march 2009 and ended on 5th march 2010.

he has phoned his tenancy deposit scheme and they advise that he should put in a dispute for tenancy as in their opinion the agency should be giving him back the deposit not the other tennants.

I am confused as to why he is still liable for the rent when he gave 1 months notice and left. He only has the keys as when he went to the agency to hand them back they refused to take them! He has moved out and as far as he knows the other two have applied for a new contract!

I dont see why they dont just sign a new tenancy with them and sort out the bond money themselves! isn't that their job?!

Regarding the damage to the door he should've done it at the time but the agency say if he can find someone cheeper to sort it out then thats fine with them. The problem with this is his old housemates decided to take £140 with no proof of a quote or evidence that it has been done. They are also taking money off his bond for everyday he still has the keys while at the same time denying him access to the property.

We're just at a loss of what to do

Cissi

bubbles24 wrote: »

Thank you for your replies, i will speek to shelter.

the tenancy started on 5th march 2009 and ended on 5th march 2010.

he has phoned his tenancy deposit scheme and they advise that he should put in a dispute for tenancy as in their opinion the agency should be giving him back the deposit not the other tennants.

I am confused as to why he is still liable for the rent when he gave 1 months notice and left. He only has the keys as when he went to the agency to hand them back they refused to take them! He has moved out and as far as he knows the other two have applied for a new contract!

I dont see why they dont just sign a new tenancy with them and sort out the bond money themselves! isn't that their job?!

Regarding the damage to the door he should've done it at the time but the agency say if he can find someone cheeper to sort it out then thats fine with them. The problem with this is his old housemates decided to take £140 with no proof of a quote or evidence that it has been done. They are also taking money off his bond for everyday he still has the keys while at the same time denying him access to the property.

We're just at a loss of what to do

I don't know the legalities of joint tenancies or the implications of your BF still having the keys, but unfortunately if the tenancy started on 5th March 2009 it ended on 4th March 2010, and this is the date that notice should have been given for. If the LL/LA want to, they could be awkward about this and demand the rent for another month. The fact that he still has the keys is problematic too.

bubbles24_2

Oh well i must be mistaken about the start date but i know 100% that it ended on the 5th March 2010.

sorry my head is all over the place trying to make sense of it all xx

Cissi

bubbles24 wrote: »

Oh well i must be mistaken about the start date but i know 100% that it ended on the 5th March 2010.

sorry my head is all over the place trying to make sense of it all xx

Of course you're all over the place, hopefully we can help you make the best of it The point about the date is important, I think you need to check the original contract to be absolutely sure of the start date - this will then decide the end date. It's possible that the contract was badly worded and that there is confusion, but the end date is definitely one day before the 1-year-anniversary of the start, if you see what I mean.

Fire_Fox

bubbles24 wrote: »

Thank you for your replies, i will speek to shelter.

the tenancy started on 5th march 2009 and ended on 5th march 2010.

he has phoned his tenancy deposit scheme and they advise that he should put in a dispute for tenancy as in their opinion the agency should be giving him back the deposit not the other tennants.

I am confused as to why he is still liable for the rent when he gave 1 months notice and left. He only has the keys as when he went to the agency to hand them back they refused to take them! He has moved out and as far as he knows the other two have applied for a new contract!

I dont see why they dont just sign a new tenancy with them and sort out the bond money themselves! isn't that their job?!

Regarding the damage to the door he should've done it at the time but the agency say if he can find someone cheeper to sort it out then thats fine with them. The problem with this is his old housemates decided to take £140 with no proof of a quote or evidence that it has been done. They are also taking money off his bond for everyday he still has the keys while at the same time denying him access to the property.

We're just at a loss of what to do

Can you please ask your boyfriend to check the 5th March start and end? This is one year and one day, doesn't make sense and it really is very important.

The reason I am suggesting your boyfriend *may* still be liable for the rent as legally tenants on a joint tenancy (one contract they all signed) are treated as one jumbo tenant not three separate tenants. So your boyfriend submitting his notice should have ended the contract for everyone. Either they all had to move out (surrender the property) OR the letting agent/ landlord could start a completely new tenancy for the two remaining housemates. That is why I am asking what was agreed in writing.

Your boyfriend MUST return the keys immediately and he MUST put into writing that he tried to surrender the tenancy on 5th March but was prevented from doing so. If he has to he should post the keys special delivery (NOT recorded delivery as it is not safe enough for keys). This gives him proof for the arbitrators that he has done everything possible to surrender the tenancy.