Cancelling a tenancy, random charges appearing.

Roxyfox

Before I ask this I want to just say please do not bother commenting if you're going to imply I should know all of this or I'm an idiot because I'm not as a grown up as you or 'blah blah life isn't fair' like previous answers to stuff on here. I am merely asking a question, It's a good thing to ask! Please keep answers as to the point and friendly as possible. Fab.

Okay so I entered a tenancy in July with my ex boyfriend (Yes yes I know), the problem however is not that we've broken up. Or the fact he just lost his job by being an idiot. It's the area, it's dangerous I feel unsafe living there, I'm from a poor background so I thought nothing of it being a little dreary but I'm also from a safe background. A house has been burnt to the grow a few streets away, a man was tasered under my balcony by the police, police cars constantly, and my neighbour scares the hell out of me. That and living in Manchester in general seems to be the main cause of my depression. So I cannot continue to live here I'm moving back home for a while my mum is delighted and I'm going to commute pay a some of the bills and cook her tea.


It is a 12 month tenancy which is odd for a couple to be put into, it's through an estate agent I've never even spoken to my landlady, we paid £800 deposit it is £550 a month and we also paid administration costs to move in I understand generally if the tenancy is cancelled then you pay rent until they replace you. Which is understandable. I checked the tenancy there is no cancellation policy written in (which is lousy considering how much it cost us for them to write it up) My ex has decided he doesn't want to live here either instead of staying the tenancy out and taking my offer of replacing myself as a flatmate.

I called them explained the situation, we split up, I am a student he is now unemployed, we cannot afford to live there and have no desire to anyway. Apparently on top of the paying the rent till new tenants materialise we have to pay a £395 agency fees to write up a new tenancy. Surely the new tenants like ourselves will be paying the agency fees to draw up the tenancy why do they need agency fees twice? It seems to me like unreasonable charges. Is it worth going to trading standards about this.

BigAunty

ooh, it'll be right nice to have a catch up with your mum and share some quality time over dinner, won't it? I love staying with my mum but she does have a tendency to over cook the veg so I do like to cook for her.

coo, men - swine's aren't they?

my area can be right rough, too, but it has it's upsides - the beer is cheap in the local pubs and there's good community spirit, neighbours take in parcels and shop keepers natter with you, that kind of thing.

EDIT - you signed a legally binding contract, there's no right to cancel a tenancy agreement, the landlord/agent can hold you to the full term if they wish.

Werdnal

Unforutnately, there is no such thing as a "cancellation policy". You have entered into a binding tenancy agreement and by signing this, you have agreed to pay the LL rent for the whole term you signed for - in this case 12 months.

If your circumstances change, the LL is under no obligation to allow you to leave. However, you can negotiate a "surrender" of the tenancy, which usually involves "compensation" to the LL to cover their inconvenience in you breaking the agreement. In this case, your LL has agreed to let you leave (he/she does not have to and can make you pay for the whole term), and in return you pay rent until new tenant is in place, and cover the re-advertising and agency fees. That is the deal he/she has requested - you can of course try to negotiate, but as I already said, LL can dictate the terms here - he/she thought they had a tenant for the whole of the fixed term, so now you have to make it worth their while changing all this.

ViolaLass

Roxyfox wrote: »

It is a 12 month tenancy which is odd for a couple to be put into

Is it?

Werdnall is right.

real1314

Roxyfox wrote: »

Before I ask this I want to just say please do not bother commenting if you're going to imply I should know all of this or I'm an idiot because I'm not as a grown up as you or 'blah blah life isn't fair' like previous answers to stuff on here. I am merely asking a question, It's a good thing to ask! Please keep answers as to the point and friendly as possible. Fab.

Okay so I entered a tenancy in July with my ex boyfriend (Yes yes I know), the problem however is not that we've broken up. Or the fact he just lost his job by being an idiot. It's the area, it's dangerous I feel unsafe living there, I'm from a poor background so I thought nothing of it being a little dreary but I'm also from a safe background. A house has been burnt to the grow a few streets away, a man was tasered under my balcony by the police, police cars constantly, and my neighbour scares the hell out of me. That and living in Manchester in general seems to be the main cause of my depression. So I cannot continue to live here I'm moving back home for a while my mum is delighted and I'm going to commute pay a some of the bills and cook her tea.


It is a 12 month tenancy which is odd for a couple to be put into, it's through an estate agent I've never even spoken to my landlady, we paid £800 deposit it is £550 a month and we also paid administration costs to move in I understand generally if the tenancy is cancelled then you pay rent until they replace you. Which is understandable. I checked the tenancy there is no cancellation policy written in (which is lousy considering how much it cost us for them to write it up) My ex has decided he doesn't want to live here either instead of staying the tenancy out and taking my offer of replacing myself as a flatmate.

I called them explained the situation, we split up, I am a student he is now unemployed, we cannot afford to live there and have no desire to anyway. Apparently on top of the paying the rent till new tenants materialise we have to pay a £395 agency fees to write up a new tenancy. Surely the new tenants like ourselves will be paying the agency fees to draw up the tenancy why do they need agency fees twice? It seems to me like unreasonable charges. Is it worth going to trading standards about this.

You have to pay the rent to the end of the contract and nothing more than that if they are unsuccessful in re-letting the property;
However if they are successful in re-letting, you will not have to pay the rent once the new tenant moves in, but you are responsible for the "reasonable costs" of re-letting.

Usually this would consist of re-advertising costs, and could also include a fee for the new tenancy agreement.
However it might be reasonable to argue that payment of the full costs could be considered "betterment" as the landlord would benefit from a new 12 month tenancy.

I would suggest that you could request to pay reduced fees in proportion to the length of the tenancy remaining; i.e if there are 6 months left when the new tenant moves in, you should only pay half, if there are only 3 months left you should only pay 25%.

This is only my opinion though. You would have to take it up with the Agent / landlord / Trading Standards / The Courts.

The agents could potentially charge for their time though? :cool:

Roxyfox

Okay but surely I have a right to know what £395 is actually covering I mean you can't just make charges up? My last tenancy covered the possibility of a tenancy cancellation I don't understand why this one doesn't. Is there no point me seeking any legal advice at all?

Yes I know I don't have a 'right' to cancel but if they're allowing me surely they can't make charges up?

Roxyfox

real1314 wrote: »

You have to pay the rent to the end of the contract and nothing more than that if they are unsuccessful in re-letting the property;
However if they are successful in re-letting, you will not have to pay the rent once the new tenant moves in, but you are responsible for the "reasonable costs" of re-letting.

Usually this would consist of re-advertising costs, and could also include a fee for the new tenancy agreement.
However it might be reasonable to argue that payment of the full costs could be considered "betterment" as the landlord would benefit from a new 12 month tenancy.

I would suggest that you could request to pay reduced fees in proportion to the length of the tenancy remaining; i.e if there are 6 months left when the new tenant moves in, you should only pay half, if there are only 3 months left you should only pay 25%.

This is only my opinion though. You would have to take it up with the Agent / landlord / Trading Standards / The Courts.

The agents could potentially charge for their time though? :cool:

Thank you I'll try discussing this with them.

Roxyfox

BigAunty wrote: »

ooh, it'll be right nice to have a catch up with your mum and share some quality time over dinner, won't it? I love staying with my mum but she does have a tendency to over cook the veg so I do like to cook for her.

coo, men - swine's aren't they?

my area can be right rough, too, but it has it's upsides - the beer is cheap in the local pubs and there's good community spirit, neighbours take in parcels and shop keepers natter with you, that kind of thing.

EDIT - you signed a legally binding contract, there's no right to cancel a tenancy agreement, the landlord/agent can hold you to the full term if they wish.

Are you trying to be sarcastic? I'm not some parent scrounging boomerang kid, I care about my mum a lot and I want to help her out if I'm living there. I don't hate my ex we're still good friends but I feel he jumped the gun by losing his job that way I can't even owe him my half of the costs and pay him later. He wants out of this too.

Oh I love community spirit I guess it's just a shame there isn't much round here the shop keeper here doesn't price his stock so he can see how much he can mark it up at the till and the local pub has about two letters of it's name still clinging on it. I'm from a working class area there's working class and there's people with little to lose, the place is riddled with drug dealers and a ice cream man that goes round in the dead of night stopping only for adults. The local kids throw rockets at you not just abuse. Sadly I'm not even exaggerating.

There are some nice people here but I don't think they want to be here either, they just can't afford anywhere else.

G_M

The trouble is it's not really a 'charge'.

It's an offer. "Tell you what, We'll agree to cancel the contract you signed if you agree to pay blah blah". They make that offer and you have no obligation to agree. You can turn down this offer. But then, of course, you continue to be bound by the original contract which you did agree to.

You, of course, have the option to make a counter-offer. Which the landlord/agent may or may not agree to.

But until you make a new agreement, the original contract stands.

Often a landlord is more flexible than an agent, so try tracing / speaking direct. The agent has to give you his address (if it's not on the tenancy agreement) within 21 days of a written request.

ViolaLass

Roxyfox wrote: »

Are you trying to be sarcastic? I'm not some parent scrounging boomerang kid, I care about my mum a lot and I want to help her out if I'm living there. I don't hate my ex we're still good friends but I feel he jumped the gun by losing his job that way I can't even owe him my half of the costs and pay him later. He wants out of this too.

Oh I love community spirit I guess it's just a shame there isn't much round here the shop keeper here doesn't price his stock so he can see how much he can mark it up at the till and the local pub has about two letters of it's name still clinging on it. I'm from a working class area there's working class and there's people with little to lose, the place is riddled with drug dealers and a ice cream man that goes round in the dead of night stopping only for adults. The local kids throw rockets at you not just abuse. Sadly I'm not even exaggerating.

There are some nice people here but I don't think they want to be here either, they just can't afford anywhere else.

You did research the area before moving there, right?

FireWyrm

Roxyfox wrote: »

Before I ask this I want to just say please do not bother commenting if you're going to imply I should know all of this or I'm an idiot because I'm not as a grown up as you or 'blah blah life isn't fair' like previous answers to stuff on here. I am merely asking a question, It's a good thing to ask! Please keep answers as to the point and friendly as possible. Fab.

We are not all like that but unfortunately, in any group of people there will be some. Ignore comments which are rude.