Need to leave tenancy early due to pregnancy-related disability

MintyG

Hello, hoping someone can help...

I have lived in a 4 bedroom shared flat for 2 years, my partner 3 years, occupying 2 rooms. The other tenants have changed over this time with four new people coming and going, and myself and my partner have done all the work in finding people and keeping the house full and ensuring our landlord gets his rent.

I am pregnant (unplanned- I was not meant to be fertile! :eek: ) and we need to move out as clearly I cannot have a baby in a house we share with another young couple. I am also suffering badly with SPD, a pregnancy-related pelvis problem. I struggle with the stairs up to the flat and also need help to get into the over-bath shower to wash. I cannot sit down in the bath either as there are no handholds. Daily life in this flat is pretty much agony. I'm barely staying there now as it's easier to be at my mother's where I can actually wash myself and leave the house without assistance!

Before I go further into the complexities (the other couple are being difficult and won't commit to either moving out at the same time as us OR looking for people to take our bedrooms), can anyone tell me if it is possible to break a tenancy agreement over pregnancy and related disability? We're not meant to give notice til June to leave in August but the baby comes in May and frankly I can barely cope with the stairs for one more month.

When we phoned to tell the landlord he basically said "You can't move out, I won't find people willing to live in that flat!" and wouldn't enter into discussion. I agree with him on that point, it's in serious need of a lot of repairs and there's no way people will pay the rent we do without him sorting the place out first.

I should add we've been asking him to do these repairs for over a year ourselves. Some of these are sanitary-related (sink dangerously close to coming away from the wall, bath overflow not plumbed in so it leaks through downstairs ceiling) which leads me to believe we might have other grounds for breaking the tenancy if it comes down to it.

I hope that made sense and any help would be much appreciated.

McKneff

Could you find someone to take over you part of the tenancy as you have found other people before.

I dont think you would be able to break your tenancy otherwise.

LilacPixie

No advice on tenancy but codeine and physio are you new best friends......

jennikitten

Have you been through your contract recently to see if it mentions anything about any of the points you've mentioned? (breaking early, state of repair, notice periods etc.). Do you have any proof of the instances you asked him to repair stuff? And I'm guessing there's no agency involved?

McKneff

Sorry to be blunt but you are being very negative.
You can have the baby in the flat for a few months. Hopefully your condition will improve when baby is born.
No handles on the bath - bathe when your OH is there and get him to help you.

I do sympathise, believe me, but there are thousands of mothers manage in high rise flats when the lift breaks down.

Be more positive, try to get up and get on with it. Most things can be overcome by attitude.
Without going into details Ive been there, done that.

Other than that, if you have any savings pay the lease up to when you have to and move out either a new rent or back to mums.

And congratulations on the baby, wonderful news, but i bet it was a bit of a shock, a nice shock but wonderful just the same.
Good luck and please dont take offence, none is meant.

fawd1

well, unless you just signed a new tenancy agreement, then you have to give one months notice. Even if you have just signed a tenancy agreement, then at most you should have to give 2, but seeing as you moved in over a year ago, one month should be no problem. So, first things first, check your tenancy agreement. If it comes to it, then call your local council and tell them about the conditions in your flat and ask them to send over an environmental health officer. If it's declared as being unfit for habitaion, then you have a very good reason to be able to leave. Don't let your landlord bully you, remember that in the broadest sense of the word, you owe him nothing (unless you're in rent arrears!)

MintyG

I'm already on physio! :-)

We could probably find people for our rooms but the other two aren't helping in terms of being around to interview people, and nobody wants to move into a flat with two people they've never met. They also won't commit to moving out (and so letting us try and fill the whole flat ourselves).

There's nothing in the contract about breaking early aside from what I've previously mentioned about it being till August, with notice not to be give before June. There's no agency involved and we don't have proof of asking about repairs other than our word. We didn't have a problem before the pregnancy so were quite (too! Gah.) relaxed about things. I'd be staying here if I wasn't pregnant. Surely he cannot insist I stay if I develop a disability beyond my control that means I can't cope in this specific property?

Just seen fawd1's reply- so even if the contract is til August with two's notice meant to be served, we can give that two months notice now and leave before August? We've always paid rent on time. I'm not sure the flat is unfit but it is unmanageable for me, and not safe for a baby even if we had the room for one.

McKneff

He cannot insist you stay, obviously but he can insist that you pay your rent till the end of your lease.

I thought the notice period was 1 month for tenants and 2 months for landlords, Im quite happy to be corrected though

G_M

can anyone tell me if it is possible to break a tenancy agreement over pregnancy and related disability?

Simple answer. No.

We're not meant to give notice til June to leave in August

Does not make sense. If you are in a fixed term contract which ends in August, you do not need to give any notice. You can just leave in August when the contract expires.
If your fixed term has already expired and you are now in a periodic tenancy, then (assuming a few things) you can give one months notice any time (again with some caveats).

You need to separate out repair issues from tenancy. If the flat needs repairs doing, there are ways to enforce this. See Shelter here, or contact Environmental Health. Possibly threatening the LL with this would make him amenable to you leaving early??

Who is on the tenancy agreement? When does it end? Are you allowed to sublet? What rights if any do the other occupiers have?
Did you pay a deposit? Is it protected? Is this an HMO? Does the landlord (to your knowledge) have lenders permission to rent? Pay HMRC tax?
Answer some questions... get better advice!

G_M

fawd1 wrote: »

well, unless you just signed a new tenancy agreement, then you have to give one months notice. Even if you have just signed a tenancy agreement, then at most you should have to give 2, but seeing as you moved in over a year ago, one month should be no problem. So, first things first, check your tenancy agreement. If it comes to it, then call your local council and tell them about the conditions in your flat and ask them to send over an environmental health officer. If it's declared as being unfit for habitaion, then you have a very good reason to be able to leave. Don't let your landlord bully you, remember that in the broadest sense of the word, you owe him nothing (unless you're in rent arrears!)

I agree with a lot of this but...." in the broadest sense of the word, you owe him nothing".
Er, no. OP owes rent up till the tenancy ends.

Ulfar

I ma lost here, you have been in the flat for over a year, have you been signing new tenancies each year rather than going onto periodic ?

If you have is there a break clause ?