Early end of AST

teo2k

Hi everyone,

I'm seeking advices on how to deal with a situation with my current landlord.

This is the situation:
- AST ending on 18/7/2011
- 9 months breaking clause
- We sent notice to landlord by email (2 months in advance) telling him we were not going to renew the contract and that we were leaving early (30/6/2011 last day)
- He told us we have to pay a percentage of the "letting fee" as per contract
- He definitely acknowledge the notice as we had people from the agency showing the property

I assumed the last month would have to be paid pro-rata depending on the actual 11 days we are going to stay in the property plus the percentage of the letting fee.

So I made all the calculations and send it to him for confirmation.

He replied saying the rent has to be paid in full as if we were staying the whole month even if we are leaving before.

This sound quite weird to me. Can he do that?

Does the tenancy have to end at specific dates?

Is there any law stating this or that I can refer to?

Thanks,
Teo

joerugby

You don't have any right to a rent reduction unless the landlord agrees. You might be able to be able to get him to agree by offering to co-operate fully with any viewings.

A compromise would be for you to pay only until the date he gets new tenants in.

teo2k

Thanks for the quick answer.

I thought the giving notice would actually change the end date of the tenancy.
I'm not looking for a reduction of the rent, just looking to pay for the actual time we are going to be in the property.

Is there any law stating the notice has to end on specific dates?

tbs624

Welcome as a newbie poster

It would be usual for your notice period to line up with your rent due date when invoking a break clause, unless agreed otherwise with the LL.

Can you post up the wording of the Break Clause?

BitterAndTwisted

You've very kindly notified the landlord that you do not wish to stay in the property after the end of your AST. That's all fine and reasonable. However leaving the property a couple of weeks early does not entitle you to not pay the rent in full to the end of the agreement unless your landlord agrees to it.

teo2k

Thanks everyone for your replies.

@tbs624: I can post the breaking clause wording tonight.

My flatmate just digged out the landlord reply to the notice email we sent him stating we were leaving on 30th June:

----
Hi XXXXXXX,

That’s ok but you will have to pay

1. Rent to 30 June and
2. Pursuant to clause 7.2 a proportion of the letting fee representing the period from 1July to 118 July ie 18 days. The fee is £2149.66x19/365=£111.87.
----

Although, this morning he said the rent should be paid in full....

I guess I could use this as an "agreement between parts"?

teo2k

And this is what we sent him on 24th April

----
Hi [Landlord]

As we are coming to the close of our contract at 60A, we've decided not to renew the lease (if this was an option). According to our contract we can give 2 months notice after 9 months of occupation, which we are now doing - we would like to be out by 30 June. As our contract was only set to run to 18 July, this isn't a great difference in time.
----

teo2k wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies.

@tbs624: I can post the breaking clause wording tonight.

My flatmate just digged out the landlord reply to the notice email we sent him stating we were leaving on 30th June:

----
Hi XXXXXXX,

That’s ok but you will have to pay

1. Rent to 30 June and
2. Pursuant to clause 7.2 a proportion of the letting fee representing the period from 1July to 118 July ie 18 days. The fee is £2149.66x19/365=£111.87.
----

Although, this morning he said the rent should be paid in full....

I guess I could use this as an "agreement between parts"?

BitterAndTwisted

You either pay all of the rent due until the 18th of July or pay your landlord the rent to the 30th of June and an additional £112. Seems fair to me.

jjlandlord

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You either pay all of the rent due until the 18th of July or pay your landlord the rent to the 30th of June and an additional £112. Seems fair to me.

Whether it's "fair" or not is irrelevant.

OP should tell us the exact wording of the break clause and of that clause 7.2.

00ec25

teo2k wrote: »

Does the tenancy have to end at specific dates?

Is there any law stating this or that I can refer to?

Yes (in principle - see below) a tenancy does indeed have to end on a specific date and this forms the basis of the whole of landlord and tenant law.

however, as with any contract if BOTH parties agree the terms any contract can be amended - the break clause being a good example, however withiout seeing the exact wording of your specifc clause (there is no "standard" wording) then it appears your LL has accepted early termination of the lease and imposed the "usual" condition of requiring you to cover the cosst of having to market the proeprty earlier than expected

angrypirate

Basically the break claus will only be enfored if you finish the tenancy 17 days early and the LL agrees to it. If the re-letting fee is less than 17 days rent and there is someone lined up then go for it - you will save some money. Otherwise your tenancy finishes on the 18th July and you can move out then (even though you move out sooner). You doesnt have to pay any fee in getting in new tenants and you dont even need to give notice as that is when your AST ends.