Leaving tenancy 1 month early

chrisb84

Hi all, i need some advice

i am leaving my tenancy 1 month early as i have found a new flat to move into. i have tried to find new tenants for the flat but havent had any luck. is the landlord also obliged to look as well? the reason being is he emplys a local agency to look after the property. they came and viewed the property on the 20th March and told us they would advertise it staright away. this hasnt been done even though they told us they would (once in an email). seeing as this would be nearly a month of lies should we still be liable? the letting agent now just ignore our calls and emails!!

Also the reason we are moving is due to noise from a hairdressing salon below us that was built in November. sicne then we have been subjected to noise from their stereo. we ahve emailed the letting agent and the landlord ever since and only recently he installed sound proofing which failing to work. again on this basis due we have a case for not paying the last month?

its been a nightmare few months but i have kept every email i send and receive.

N79

chrisb84 wrote: »

Hi all, i need some advice

i am leaving my tenancy 1 month early as i have found a new flat to move into. i have tried to find new tenants for the flat but havent had any luck. is the landlord also obliged to look as well? the reason being is he emplys a local agency to look after the property. they came and viewed the property on the 20th March and told us they would advertise it staright away. this hasnt been done even though they told us they would (once in an email). seeing as this would be nearly a month of lies should we still be liable? the letting agent now just ignore our calls and emails!!

The LL has no obligation to market the property, but having offered they should make reasonable efforts to market it. With Easter I doubt anyone would find a 3 week delay to be totally unreasonable, especially if you are still in residence.

Also the reason we are moving is due to noise from a hairdressing salon below us that was built in November. sicne then we have been subjected to noise from their stereo. we ahve emailed the letting agent and the landlord ever since and only recently he installed sound proofing which failing to work. again on this basis due we have a case for not paying the last month?

No - your dispute is with your neighbours, not your LL. You should call your council's environmental health enforcement team to start noise monitoring.

Fire_Fox

Noise pollution should be reported to Environmental Health at the local council, they have the power to get the hairdressers to quieten down.

chrisb84

Thanks N79

however i disagree. our contract states we are liable for any losses incurred by the landlord, but common law states they should also look.

3 weeks over Easter shouldnt make any difference as people look online 24/7 at websites that advertise properties for rent. the came round on the 20th which was a saturday telling us that they would market it staright awaym ie the monday. i emailed them on the 24th and had a reply back saying they would market it that day. then again last week i phone to be told they would do it?

the neighbours problem i do slightly agree with but the landlord is also landlord of the shop and so has an obligation to ensure his tenants are happy surely?

N79

chrisb84 wrote: »

Thanks N79

however i disagree. our contract states we are liable for any losses incurred by the landlord, but common law states they should also look.

But case law des not (and hence, in my opinion, nor does "common law"). See Reichmann and Dunn vs Beverage and Gauntlett from 2006 (with all the usual caveats about that case).

3 weeks over Easter shouldnt make any difference as people look online 24/7 at websites that advertise properties for rent. the came round on the 20th which was a saturday telling us that they would market it staright awaym ie the monday. i emailed them on the 24th and had a reply back saying they would market it that day. then again last week i phone to be told they would do it?

So their are fairly useless agents - hold the front pages! Unfortunately I doubt if anyone would believe that they have been totally unreasonably useless.

The bottom line is that you signed up for the tenancy term on a legally binding contract. You have to pay the rent that you agreed to pay. The LL does not have to help you break your legal obligations and given that there is only a month or so to go it is hardly surprising that they are not breaking their neck.

the neighbours problem i do slightly agree with but the landlord is also landlord of the shop and so has an obligation to ensure his tenants are happy surely?

This is a little tongue in cheek but the LL has managed to ensure 1 happy T so that is a 50% success rate. Seriously, LL's have no power to do anything about mildly annoying Ts except not renewing their tenancy, which, of course, can only be done at the end of a tenancy term.

chrisb84

thanks

i'm still not sold on the agents issue, im not complaing about the LL but them as they are the ones who are essentially ensuring we are going to be liable by not doing their job. if they had placed an ad online straight away as promised the chances of viewings and finding a potential tenant would increase 1000%. if i have written confirmation of their intend to do so surely i have a case to not be liable for the whole months rent. i'd happily pay 1/2 on the this basis. im not trying to be awkward in general but as i say if advertised properly and as suggested to me we could have found a tenant before the beginnign of May ensuring nobody loses out? i cant get hold of the landlord but he pays for their services and could make him lose out if they dont get anyone in for when our tenancy would officially end anyways?

Fire_Fox

chrisb84 wrote: »

Thanks N79
the neighbours problem i do slightly agree with but the landlord is also landlord of the shop and so has an obligation to ensure his tenants are happy surely?

The landlord has no powers against their tenants (hairdressers) as regards noise except in cases of breaches of the lease. If there has been a serious breach or a series of minor breaches, a landlord can evict through the courts HOWEVER they need evidence which means you going to Environmental Health! EH have the power to abate noise, you pay for the service in your council tax so use them rather than expecting your landlord to risk being accused of harassment by the hairdressers.

chrisb84

I'm literally leaving the property in 2 weeks and so theres no point in talking to EH now. if i'd know i would have done so 5 months ago when the problem started but the LL could have suggested this

Fire_Fox

chrisb84 wrote: »

I'm literally leaving the property in 2 weeks and so theres no point in talking to EH now. if i'd know i would have done so 5 months ago when the problem started but the LL could have suggested this

The landlord is not your dad, you are an adult you need to take responsibility rather than passing the buck. TBH it sounds like the landlord has been very reasonable by installing additional sound proofing. Perhaps you could consider the impact of the noise in the next tenant and contact EH?

moromir

chrisb84 wrote: »

if they had placed an ad online straight away as promised

chrisb84 wrote: »

they would advertise it staright away

Out of curiousity, what exactly did they say they would do in the email? Did they say they would market the property, advertise the property or place an online advert on a specific website or something else? These are very different statements. For example Agents will often retain a list of tenants they know are actively looking for property, they may have marketed the property to them. They may advertise in traditional publications such as the free weekly newspaper etc, not nescesserily online etc etc.

chrisb84

i asked if she had put the property online through the company. her response was

' I will put an ad on today and will let you know when I have some viewings lined up'

This was on the 24th. i've been on their website which is run through find a property every day since and our property is still not listed.

I may be naive with all of this but surely you can see why i feel we shouldnt be fully liable when we've been lied to so many times. yes i know it probably wont make a difference and we'll be liable for the rent