Mental health illness, letting agent wont allow me to leave

David1874

Hi, I am in so much need of some advice.
I signed a 12 month short hold tenancy agreement on 26 April 2010 and I had a guarantor because I have schitzophrenia and live on Disability benefit.
The tenancy should have expired on 25 April 2011 but the letting agent will not let me leave unless i pay 6 months rent & £100 costs. If I don't pay they say they will hold the guarantor liable.

To cut a very long story short I had a psychotic episode in January (blackouts delusions & paranoia) and bombarded my letting agent with emails asking if i could resign and extend the tenancy agreement, at the time the subject of housing and benefits was very much in the news on TV and my neighbours had been making my life very difficult (names+noises)
I thought/believed they were trying to make me homeless, This is why i tried to extend the agreement. The letting agent posted me a letter titled 'Memorandum of Extension to Tenancy Agreement' I signed this and left it out for her.
I didn't tell the guarantor and 2 weeks later i was back in hospital.
The person that stood as my guarantor is also my mental health carer and when they found out they tried to withdraw the extention as I new what i was doing but the reasons why were not realistic.
now the problem is i have to move out a) i cant afford to pay the rent on my own and living alone has not worked out well, psychotic episodes have increased, the neighbours dont want me here and make it very obvious to me.
My question if any body can offer any advice, Is the person that stood guarantor really liable for the extra 6 months rent from an extetion agreement they didn't sign and didn't know anything about. and myself and the social worker tried to retract this extension within a month of signing giving a full explanation and apology, even offering 2 months paid rent so compensation.
Can They Really hold me to this agreement?
I have been offered a placement to go and live somewhere more suitable and really don't want to lose this.
and finally i have told the agent that i cant afford to stay so at some point i am going to run in to rent difficulties, i need to leave but i can't dump this problem on the person that stood up as guarantor for me.
Any Help Gratefully Recieved, Thank you
(if i don't make sense please feel free to ask, i need the help) TY

GlasweJen

Hi David,

the problem the letting agent will be having is that if they had known you were going to be moving then they would have advertised the property a few months before you moved and had a tenant in the wings waiting to move in when you moved out. This would have meant a minimum period where your home wasn't generating money for the letting agent (and in turn your landlord).

As the agent thought they had another 6 months (that you requested) they wont have advertised so they stand to lose out in this. Your best offering to stay in the house and pay rent to them while they advertise and then agree to move when they have found someone to take your house on.

Legally, you requested this extension so it's yourself that is responsible for the 6 months rent that they now want. Your guarantor cannot be held responsible for the extension (they should have been given a whole new form to complete at the time if the agent still wanted you to have a guarantor) but all this means is that if you pack up and leave in the middle of the night the letting agent can pursue you through the courts for the money.

dmg24

GlasweJen wrote: »

Hi David,

the problem the letting agent will be having is that if they had known you were going to be moving then they would have advertised the property a few months before you moved and had a tenant in the wings waiting to move in when you moved out. This would have meant a minimum period where your home wasn't generating money for the letting agent (and in turn your landlord).

As the agent thought they had another 6 months (that you requested) they wont have advertised so they stand to lose out in this. Your best offering to stay in the house and pay rent to them while they advertise and then agree to move when they have found someone to take your house on.

Legally, you requested this extension so it's yourself that is responsible for the 6 months rent that they now want. Your guarantor cannot be held responsible for the extension (they should have been given a whole new form to complete at the time if the agent still wanted you to have a guarantor) but all this means is that if you pack up and leave in the middle of the night the letting agent can pursue you through the courts for the money.

I agree to an extent, but there appears to be an issue of capacity here - it may be the case that the OP was not capable of entering into a contract.

OP, if you contact MIND they should be able to advise further. The question of capacity is one which needs to be decided by an MCA trained mental health professional.

CountryGuy

If you write to them explaining what has happened and get your carer to do the same, then offer to remain for 1 more month while they advertise it they just might accept this.

According to the law, providing you can give reasonable reasons as to why you need to end the tenancy early and offer a reasonable amount of time for them to advertise the property (1 month) then they are obliged to accept your request to end the tenancy agreement earlier than originally agreed.

Also, if you know someone who would take over the tenancy straight away from you then the landlord would not stand a chance in court should you disagree with their terms.

You can google tenancy rights which will explain in full your rights and the rights of the landlord

McKneff

Quote - i need to leave but i can't dump this problem on the person that stood up as guarantor for me. Quote.

Hello David and welcome to the boards, if you dont get meaninful advice here, you wont get it anywhere, its brilliant when you need help.

I just want to applaud this part of your post in bold above, :T:Tso many people these day always blame everyone else for their misfortunes and wont take responsibility for their own actions.

This is a welcome breath of fresh air from you.

I hope things go well for you, now and in the future

Annie

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Do you not qualify for LHA if you receive benefits for your medical condition?

Although it does occur to me that the landlord might be more amenable if they were informed that your illness was being exacerbated by difficulties with your neighbours/your illness was resulting in you having beliefs about your neighbours.

Difficult, but hopefully they will come round with some further persuasion.

GlasweJen

David1874 wrote: »

I didn't tell the guarantor and 2 weeks later i was back in hospital.
The person that stood as my guarantor is also my mental health carer and when they found out they tried to withdraw the extention as I new what i was doing but the reasons why were not realistic.

myself and the social worker tried to retract this extension within a month of signing giving a full explanation and apology, even offering 2 months paid rent so compensation.

Thanks DMG, the bold bits are why I assumed that the OP was capable of making the decision to extend, I assumed that the social workers would have put up a bigger case if he wasn't and wouldn't have offered compensation.

kurgon

Your posts appear to contradict each other. If you were deluional when you igned the agreement, then you did not have capacity to make this decision. Does your social worker have access to a consultant psychistrist as this would address the issue. If you had capacity you are bound by the agreement, if not (and to me it appears that you did not) then no court would hold that this was signed in a legal manner.
Also, if the letting agent has made you obtain a guarentor because you have mental health issues this is direct discrimination. If it is because you are on benefits then it is not. I would also look inot this.
My personal opinion is that they are trying to bully you. I feel your social worker should be doing a little more, and liasing with others. They must have a welfare rights worker they can access who will give them advice on where you stand with your illness and your housing related needs. These are all other issues that may help resolve the issue.

CountryGuy

I'd still go with trying to get the landlord on your side. Explain your reasons, be sympathetic and understanding as to his circumstances and ask him how much notice he would accept.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/renting_and_leasehold/ending_a_tenancy_or_licence/ending_a_fixed_term_agreement

CFC

kurgon wrote: »

If you
My personal opinion is that they are trying to bully you. .

I've never heard such nonsense. They are a business, they extended the lease at the OP's request, and their duty is to the landlord, to avoid any loss to that person.

In relation to capacity, the OP advised that he knew what he was doing.

OP, go back and look at the contracts re the guarantor and the extension and seek advice. Country guy gives some sensible advice.

lilly81

Hi David,

One thing you could try for is a discretionary extra payment from housing benefit. They dont advertise this but I think your case is an extreame one.
This means that either they will make up the shortful in your rent or even pay rent on 2 properties.
Also I would reccomend contacting shelter, http://england.shelter.org.uk/
They are amazing at helping out with property issues.

Good Luck,
LillyX