legal advice on breaking rent contract

aggi

ok,
was renting flat for over a year. then decided to try to leave earlier( 1and half month earlier before end date). asked agent if possible and they said yes if they find new tenants.
they found tenants and gave me date to move out. i moved out signed new contract with different agent. week later got a call that their new tenants changed their mind and dont want to move in any more and that i am due rent till end of my tenancy.

is that right? or surely if they told me to move out they kind of freed me of term of contract?and should just pay for relisting fees (that is what i am told by someone)

any good advice pls

pinkshoes

Do you have it in writing from the agents that they had found new tenants, along with the date they gave you to move out?

aggi

not sure as my hubby dealt with them but think they emailed him

ttd14

It's doubtful that this would override the pre-exising condition of you having to pay rent until then end of your tenancy agreement though.

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

Fixed terms are binding but the landlord, and in this case through thier agent, is under a duty to mitigate their loss. They made arrangements to fill the letting, you made your own arrangements based on that. If thier arrangement broke down I cannot see how legally they could persue you now.

I agree with Pink Shoes that it would be great to have it in writing but a verbal understanding, provided the agents dont competely change their story, should suffice.

Bear in mind that despite any threats they may make there isnt that much left on the contract anyway. And on a personal note I have been dealing with landlord tenant law since 1990 and I can honestly say I personally have never known a single case where the landlord has actually persued an ex teanat for leaving early, despite many threats and legal letters. It doesnt mean they cant and I'm sure it doesnt mean that they dont sometimes, just not in my expereince.

poolboy

I disagree with above.

Without a deed of surrender T is liable for the fixed term. Its only 108 GBP to claim for this online & I can't see how it can fail, whether a successful claim gets paid is another matter.

I am a LL & would have no hesitation in claiming. Besides, if I served premature notice on a T I expect they would want compensation.

I have had a few Ts go off & seek legal advice re breaking a fixed term early & all have paid in full.

Also, a LL has no obligation to mitigate his losses by reletting. Google it, or look at landlordzone forums, there's loads of posts on there.

deary65

This seems to me as an agent trying to cover their butt, since they will be liable to the LL. for any outstanding rent.
Tenancy contracts are founding on contract( agreement), you have asked to vary the contract which was accepted you have acted( a persons act is their deed wither reduced to writing or not) on that agreement ie you have given consideration ( moved out) a new contract has been enter into and holds good in law.As the above poster has said forget about it. Hope your happy in your new flat.

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

The defining decision on mitigation of loss has always been a 1912 case law but was superceded in 2006 by Reichman & Anor v. Beveridge & Anor, it is true, And I accept that Poolboy has taken this route but I stand by what I say in that I have personally never encountered it.

The 'Anor' logic is did the landlord, in your case through their agent, accept surrender? for surrender to take place doesnt require a formal deed, that would be termination, which is a differnet animal, especially in joint tenancies. Surrender is defined by an unequivocal act of surrender bolstered by an unequivocal act of acceptance. I dont know if that was what happened in your case

poolboy

Thanks Ben for clarifying.

I think on this style of forum it's good that both T & LL get a balanced view. What miffed me was the outgoing T attitude that they thought they could just walk away from a legally binding agreement.

If you turn it round & say I wanted to break the contract as a LL early do you think a T would just roll over & agree, I doubt it.

It's best if you are struggling with rent & are mid fixed term to talk with yr LL & explain, don't do nothing. LL will fear the worst & has a mortgage to pay.

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

Yes PB I absolutely agree. My job for many years was prosecuting landlords for harassment and illegal eviction, and there are some frightening bullies out there but the vast majority of cases were dealing with reckless actions commitited by decent but frustrated landlords, who either didnt know the law or who were simply at their wit's end as to what to do with tenants who werent answering the phone and then get a solicitor or someone like me to get on their landlord's case.

I think th OP did the right thing in thing to siort things out with the agent. It just didnt work out but that's life and letting

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

Oh and ever the landlord/tenant bloodhound and unable to let things pass, I have been digging deeper about mitigation and found that the 2006 Anor case has been superceded by 2009s Bulkhaul Ltd v. Rhodia Organique Fine Ltd, where the appeal judge said "the courts will penalise a claimant in damages where it has demonstrably and unreasonably failed to take any steps to mitigate its loss"

I still, like PB, think a tenant should just talk to the landlord about the difficulty, it'smuch easier than court action for everybody concerned