Getting out of a tenancy agreement to buy a house

waribai

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I am currently 3 months into a renewed 12 month tenancy agreement but would like to start househunting now as my wife is expecting our first child. I am not sure however how I can go about leaving this rent agreement. Do I have to stay till the end of the 12 months? It seems almost impossible to time the end of an agreement and the purchase of a new property. Ideally I would like to move out in about 3 months time but I'm guessing the landlord/letting agency will not allow this

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Most STAs include a condition for early release subject to a replacement of tenant and the payment of costs for doing so (often restricted to second half of term).

First step - read your agreement.

Second step - speak to the landlord or agent (the sooner you speak to them the qucicker they can start a replacement process - even better if you can find a tenant for them).

TrickyDicky

If you dont renew a agreement, it automatically becomes a rolling contract, where you can leave anytime with 1 months notice, and the landlord can kick you out with 2 months notice (and there are no fees to pay). Unfortunatly, because you signed a new one (that you didnt really have too) you are locked in for 12 months. The only thing you can do is speak to your landlord and try and come to some agreement.

On the other hand, finding a house can be a long process. It took us 9 months from starting to look to finally moving in, but that included one house that fell through on the verge of exchange. You should always keep your contract until completion. If you give notice on your tennancy before you have exchanged contrats, you have the potential for the sale to fall through, AND you have to leave your rented property.

I would speak to the landlord and tell him your plans. if he knows well in advance, he might let you go with 1/2 months notice.

waribai

Thanks for the advice. We didn't actually sign the second contract. However, we were sent a copy of it to sign and paid the agency's renewal fee. I guess this could be argued as afreeing to the new contract.
Ok, I will contact the landlord and let you know how we get on.

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Whether an unsigned contract is binding is a very confusing and often argued case (both in court and outside) - the latest case I am aware of being held up as precedent is Grant v Bragg which on appeal was ruled as unenforecable, but primarily on technical grounds relating to other actions rather than rejecting the principal that by acting within the terms of a contract (in your case making the fee payment and remaining in the property) you are accepting the contract.

I think (personal opinion only) that the landlord could expect to win litigation against you.

However, in most cases I find landlords/agents willing to compromise provided they are able to re-let speedily (but don't bank on getting all your deposit back to help with the new property!)

Mrs_Z

I agree with TrickyDicky - moving in within 3 months before you have even started the house hunting is wildly optimistic! We've bought 2 properties in the past 10 or so years neither of which inolved a chain and the process pretty much took 3 months in each case from offer to completion. Let alone FINDING the right property in a first place.

waribai

Mrs_Z wrote: »

I agree with TrickyDicky - moving in within 3 months before you have even started the house hunting is wildly optimistic! We've bought 2 properties in the past 10 or so years neither of which inolved a chain and the process pretty much took 3 months in each case from offer to completion. Let alone FINDING the right property in a first place.

Much appreciate all the advice. The 3 months was more of an earliest case scenario but I think yes, it could be longer. I think I will tell the landlord and agency our situation and hopefully keeping everyone informed will make things much smoother