Private renting and burgled

beangill

Hi,

My boyfriend and I moved into private rented accommodation on the 11th November and unfortunately were burgled on the 25th November. My insurance for the taken items is still getting processed.

The burglar forced themselves in by breaking the back door off the hinges and kicking the door in. The door seemed like a very strong door. It seems like the burglar also come over the neighbour's fence into our garden. This happened while we were at work and the neighbours did not hear anything or were at work.

Subsequently the door was secured by screwing it back to the door frame. This will not get fixed until the 9th December. Now, there are always a few lights left on and my boyfriend visits the house on his lunch break. When we spoke to the landlord he was against a burglar alarm as it makes his insurance more tricky. But said he would look into it.

Although it is unlikely to happen again, I wish to leave to property as I do not feel safe but I cannot see a way out. The contract states that the landlord needs 2 months notice and that we require to pay rent until a suitable tenant is found (this is at the discretion of the letting agent). The agreement is until 30th June 2012. The landlord knows that I now very rarely stay at the property but my partner does.

Is there anyway of getting out a contract early without paying more? At the moment I am paying for a property that I rarely stay in. I am also aware that overtime I will get over the burglary.

Any advice would be welcomed

Yorkie1

Sorry to hear about your experience.

The usual rule is that you have a fixed term contract until the end of June 2012 and are therefore legally bound to pay the rent until the end of the tenancy.

The reference to 2 months' notice is somewhat confusing though - it's either an attempt by the LL to make you give notice 2 months before the end of June if you intend to leave, or it allows you to leave during the tenancy on giving the right notice. Please could you write out the full wording of the clause? When did the tenancy actually start - mid Nov to end June is an unusual tenancy period.

DON79

Sorry to hear about it beansgill - however we have been through the experience of being burgled also. The feelings about your not wanting to live there are natural and if you are like me, you probably get a feeling of dread everytime you pull into your street and get home in case you discover you have been burgled again. This feeling will get better in time but won't go completely away. Its been 5 yrs since we were burgled - it happened only once and they have not been back. They won't necessarily target you again.

leaving lights on - even on timers is a good plan.

Our burglars kicked in the glass in the back door and got in that way. But now our back door is more secure as it has a tougher resin panel which can't be broken. We didn't have an alarm and still don't have one. Things like this happen and you have to try get over it as it could happen again if you move... Unfortunately you can't keep moving house if this happened again in your new house.

Also, we were burgled just two months after moving into our new house similar to yourselves.

I know its not a nice feeling or thought to think someone has been in your home but once the back door is repaired, chances are that they will be able to do something to strengthen it like our back door, or could you fit any extra bolts on the back door to make you feel safer?

beangill

Thanks for your reply.

The agreement states:

If you give us notice that you are going to leave the property before this agreement has ended, you must pay our reasonable costs for re-letting the property, £150 + VAT, as well as paying the rent until the new tenant moves in.

The length of the notice must be at least 2 months , and the notice must be given before or on the day on which the fixed term comes to an end.

The tenancy began 11.11.2011

tbs624

Have you had the Crime Prevention Officer round to the property for their guidance on extra security measures?

I don't understand the LL's comment about the provision of a burglar alarm making his insurance "more tricky" , although obviously if you as the occupants failed to set a burglar alarm on exit then the insurance company are likely to refuse to pay out refuse to pay out.

Will the LL be ensuring that the replacement/repaired door has additional security such as hinge bolts etc? If the fence between you and the neighbour is a weakpoint for access would the LL add trellis to the top or consent to your doing so - most burglars prefer not to have to negotiate wobbly trellis work.

As Yorkie1 says, you need to check the terms of your tenancy agreement as it sounds possible that there is a break clause in there, given the reference to a requirement for 2 months notice from you.

tbs624

beangill wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

The agreement states:

If you give us notice that you are going to leave the property before this agreement has ended, you must pay our reasonable costs for re-letting the property, £150 + VAT, as well as paying the rent until the new tenant moves in.

The length of the notice must be at least 2 months , and the notice must be given before or on the day on which the fixed term comes to an end.

The tenancy began 11.11.2011

Sorry, I hadn't seen this post before I hit send. Those two paragraphs do not make sense together, and the latter one on it's own is a nonsense. If the Fixed Term has expired ( & you are still in situ and no new fixed term has been agreed to) then the tenancy would become a statutory perioidc running from month to month. The LL has to give you 2 months notice but you only have to give one month, correctly aligned.

beangill

There has been a Community Support Officer walking around the area. But there hasn't been anyone visiting the house since the night the burglary took place.

Apparently the LL is getting the most secure door fitted next Friday but said that if we wanted to fit locks to all the doors inside, we can do that ourselves. However, I don't know what door is getting fitted as he came around when my boyfriend and I were at work.

To move out the property early I would need to give 1 months notice but then continue to pay the rent until a new tenant moved in, is that correct?

Thanks for all your help, its greatly appreciated.

Yorkie1

Your tenancy clause does not make sense on several levels, as tbs624 says.

It looks as though you have to give 2 months' notice, not necessarily aligned to rental periods, and pay the re-letting fee cited, and pay rent until re-let.

It doesn't seem to allow you to re-let and move out / new tenant move in within the notice period. It also seems to make you pay for as long after the notice period expires as it takes to find a new T. So if it took another 3 months to re-let, you'd be bound to pay that too.

Hopefully others can be more constructive in advice than me.

tbs624

beangill wrote: »

There has been a Community Support Officer walking around the area. But there hasn't been anyone visiting the house since the night the burglary took place.

So pick up the phone and request a visit from the CPO

beangill wrote: »

Apparently the LL is getting the most secure door fitted next Friday but said that if we wanted to fit locks to all the doors inside, we can do that ourselves.

Get that in writing so as to protect your tenancy deposit

beangill wrote: »

However, I don't know what door is getting fitted as he came around when my boyfriend and I were at work.

Could you not discuss hinge bolts etc with the LL - just because you weren't there at the time it doesn't mean you can't ask what's being done to beef up the security

beangill wrote: »

To move out the property early I would need to give 1 months notice but then continue to pay the rent until a new tenant moved in, is that correct?.

The LL asking you to give notice to leave is so that he can try to minimise the amount of time the property stands empty but although he can ask he can't insist that you actually remain in occupation, just insist that you continue to pay the rent & other costs due under the tenancy agreement until a new T can be found to move in.

Are there perhaps other issues with this property that are adding to your desire to seek an early surrender? It is grim being burgled (been there) but as a poster above has said, it is possible to get on with life without rushing to move out.

G_M

You signed a fixed term contract and are bound by it till it ends. Burglary is not a reason in law to end a contract. An owner-occupier who is burgled has the same issue. If he wishes to move out, he must find a buyer for his property.

Having said that, there are 2 other ways to end the tenancy early:

1) by mutual agreement. You and the landlord can agree any terms to end the tenancy. If he agrees, you could surrender the keys in a week - so it may be worth discussing/negotiating to see how flexible he is. I suspect you will need to offer a decent compensation though for his agreement. He believed he had arranged a regular rental income for 6 months and now finds he has all the expense and uncertainty of looking for a new tenant after just a few weeks.

2) by use of the clause. Although I agree with others that it is poorly worded and potentially ambiguous, I feel the intention is clear - that the LL will allow early surrender of the tenancy (see 1 above!) if
a) you give 2 months notice
b) you pay rent till new tenant in place and
c) you pay £150 towards his expenses

The issues (and relevance of the clause) around giving notice on the day the fixed term ends are not pertinant here so can be ignored.

Communication is the key so arrange to have a chat with the LL and see how sympathetic he is.

The issue around the alam is probobly that although it can deter burglars, AND bring annual premium down, if it is not switched on every time the house is left empty the insurance ca become invalid. The LL is therefore dependant on trusting you to turn it on each time you nip out for milk, otherwise his insurance is invalid.

clutton_2

GM is spot on as usual