Moving out of rented house. Partner making it difficult!

littlemiss_sal

Hi All,

Last week I decided that I was going to move out of my private rent house that I share with my boyfriend.
Our tenancy agreement is a 6 month tenancy which is due to expire/end 6th May 2011.
I spoke to my bf about this and we came to an agreement that we'd pay up to May as well as give landlady written & verbal notice of this.

He has, as I expected, decided that he doesnt want to do this now and has cancelled the standing order which has been set up in his bank account that pays the rent. (He pays rent, I pay all bills & shopping)

I just want to know where I stand with this or if anyone has any advice.
I have verbally let the landlady know we want to move out and that he has threatened to cancel the standing order. She said its a legal document etc etc so she'd take us to court. I am still willing to pay my half but I cant afford to pay the rent as well. Landlady has also said she would preferably like 6 months notice of us leaving!

Thanku for the time to read this x

BitterAndTwisted

Six months notice! If she needed that much notice she should have asked you to consider signing up for a much longer fixed-term. Which under the circs is just as well that she didn't ask and you didn't agree.

If it's a joint-tenancy then the two of you are responsible for all of the rent and not 50/50.

If your decision has come as a bolt out of the blue to your b/f I'm not really surprised that he's taken it badly. If your b/f won't pay his half-share of the rent I'd tell him that you're going to stop paying any more bills and won't be buying any more food either.

Geenie

If your tenancy agreement is a 6 month AST, then you only have to give one months notice not six.

Look at your AST, read every line and what you and your BF are liable for. Despite your BF paying the rent, you will be liable for half if named on the AST. So on this point, the LL has a right to persue you for the unpaid rent, but not for 6 months notice. There are plenty of sites available online to explain the law on AST's.

Do you have your deposit protected by the LL as is the law? Were you given an inventory and copy of the Energy Performance Certificate?

Seriously, do some research and find out about tenants rights. And get away from that boyfriend as soon as possible. Good luck OP and keep us posted.

BitterAndTwisted

Actually, you don't have to give any notice that you intend to move out at the end of a fixed-term AST although good manners dictates that you should signal your intentions to your landlord.

Both people in a joint-tenancy are equally liable for the whole of the rent and a landlord can and will chase whoever is most easily chased for any shortfall regardless of whose "share" is unpaid.

Littlemiss_sal: you must give your notice to leave at the end of your fixed-term to your landlord IN WRITING. One person giving notice on a joint-tenancy is doing it for both parties, so that should mean that you stop being liable even should your b/f decline to leave the property at the end of the fixed-term, so please do this asap to protect yourself.

PasturesNew

You are legally obliged to pay until the end of your current AST, in May.
If you are on an AST then you don't have to give ANY notice to your LL that you're moving out, it's just polite to do so.
If one of you gives notice, then notice is given from the pair of you, so if you do it, your bf's stuck with that decision and would have to sign a new agreement in May, alone, if he wanted to stay there.

Where are you moving to?
What's he doing?

littlemiss_sal

Thankyou for your responses... I had a skim through and will look in more detail this afternoon when I have more time!

to answer your questions: Im unsure whether the deposit is protected by LL.. I will look into this.
I did get an inventory when we first moved in. Everything is as it was in that inventory, accept for (what I would say) wear & tear e.g. the drawers come off the runners, the walls are a bit marked by furniture in the living room, i have painted the kitchen (but she saw it and said it was ok). We have been good tenants and she's admitted that to a friend.

Im moving back with my parents. I have friends who have said i can house share once im back on my feet. BF has had to go to his sisters because his mum is moving into smaller accomodation.

Im wondering whether to speak to bf and see if we can come to an arrangement on the rent. I may suggest I pay half the rent (as well as the bills, which im paying already) and he pays the other half of rent. Its not a fair deal but if it means I wont get in this mess with LL (Who i like very much) it may be worth doing :-(

Incyder

littlemiss_sal wrote: »

I may suggest I pay half the rent (as well as the bills, which im paying already) and he pays the other half of rent. Its not a fair deal but if it means I wont get in this mess with LL (Who i like very much) it may be worth doing :-(

Well there wont be any bills, hardly any anyway. You have both moved out so gas and electric and water is not being used. You are now not buying food for him either.

If you can both be 'mature' about it and pay the rent for 3 more months then you'll save a lot of hassle, court proceedings, and won't get any nasty black marks against your credit files which will give you big problems in the future.

N79

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Actually, you don't have to give any notice that you intend to move out at the end of a fixed-term AST although good manners dictates that you should signal your intentions to your landlord.

PasturesNew wrote: »

If you are on an AST then you don't have to give ANY notice to your LL that you're moving out, it's just polite to do so.

Actually this is one of the occasions where this is probably incorrect. The issue is that a periodic tenancy will start if the tenant stays in occupation. Legally, the two people form one tenant so if one of the people stays on, then a periodic tenancy will arise. Since the OP wants to end this tenancy, they would be well advised to serve formal notice to try to ensure that a periodic tenancy does not arise.

(The law actually fails badly in this case as even if the OP serves notice, if their XOH does not leave the property then a periodic tenancy would arise with the OP remaining a joint and several T until either the LL evicts or the LL and T's agree a surrender (and a new tenancy for the remaining T). In reality, this situation normally works out through an element of mutual co-operation in everyone's best interests!)

poppysarah

littlemiss_sal wrote: »

Hi All,


He has, as I expected, decided that he doesnt want to do this now and has cancelled the standing order which has been set up in his bank account that pays the rent. (He pays rent, I pay all bills & shopping) x

Don't buy the shopping or pay the bills.
Ask them to cut off services maybe as a last resort maybe?

I assume you're splitting up but you haven't made that clear.

littlemiss_sal

Just to update and get words of advice, now my landlady is making this very difficult & could do with some help!

Last friday my mum rang her to fore warn her we were going to move out & partner was saying he didnt want to pay the rent up until May (end of contract). My mum assured her that this was heat of the moment and to not act on this until we were sure.

Today i called her to confirm we have moved out and give our minimum of 2 months notice as stated in contract. Ive cleaned, tidied and moved all of the contents out. She has rung back and isnt happy that we are leaving the house empty.
She's said we should of given notice first then moved out.

I do understand where she's coming from, that she isnt happy the house will stand empty but I didnt ask for it to come about this way!
She went on that she had been a good landlady, left us alone, not bothered us & gave us the house cheap (!!!!)
She also said that she has not acted on this because my mum assured her not to.
She has said she wants one of us to live there. Which isnt possible. She's going to speak to her solicitor.

where do I stand on this? Im willing to pay rent to the end of agreement, given minimum of 2 months notice & there is nothing in the tenancy about living in property until end of contract.
The only bit, which isnt relevant, is that we need to let her know if it will be empty for 14 days (if on holiday).

tanith

Surely if you have moved out there is nothing stopping her renting the place out again is there? It won't be empty then..