Valid contract? Where we stand...

woowoo24

Hi everyone just in need of some advice if poss..

Me and my partner moved into a flat on 1st sept straight from our parents' houses on a 6 month lease. The estate agents advised us that my boyfriend needed a guarantor as he works for an agency, so he asked his dad to do this and he agreed however on the date we moved into the property his dad was on holiday, the estate agents still gave us the keys and allowed us to move in, leaving us the unsigned contracts and said we were to get them signed as soon as he was back then drop them by the office.

When my boyfriends dad returned and read the contract he wouldnt sign it as there was no clause stating he would just be guarantor for my boyfriend, the contract was worded as though it would be for both of us. We rang the estate agent and she told us that she would get another one drawn up and send it out to us.

After 3-4 months of going back and forth another guy from the estate agents has informed us that it is impossible to change the contract and any guarantor would be signing responsibility for the both of us..he said we cannot renew the lease (which runs out 29th feb) without a guarantor OR agreeing to having my name solely on the contract (which we dont want to do)

We've found another place to live (move in date of 11th feb) and have told the estate agent we will pay rent up until we move out, they have said we have to pay until the end of feb as that is what our contract states. Surely without a guarantor (which they have told us is a legal requirement) the contract is invalid?

Just want to know where we would stand with this as we dont want them to withold our original deposit from us as we need this released to pay the deposit to the new landlord.

Sorry this is very long winded lol any help is appreciated
Thanks.

pinkshoes

You have to pay until the end of Feb, as per your contract.

You still have a contract, just with no guarantor.

amiehall

You should try and move the start date of the new place to nearer the end of the month. You'll have to pay a full month's rent to your old LL for February. Any money you don't pay will be legitimately deducted from your deposit.

BitterAndTwisted

You are contractually bound to pay the rent until the end of next month. You do have a valid contract it's just that the guarantor part isn't part of the contract due to non-signature. If you don't pay the full rent for February in full the agent/landlord would be fully entitled to claim it from your deposit.

Also, thinking that you'll see your deposit back on or before your leaving date is only a vague fantasy. You won't: you'll most likely not see it for a fortnight at the very earliest.

Looks like you might be in danger of paying two lots of rent for three weeks and finding another deposit. So get saving!

G_M

My god.. does the landlord know how badly th agent has c*cked up!?

Guaranor required, but keys handed over and tenancy created without any paperworl.....!! They are in the do-do!

Your contract is valid. The Fixed Term runs out at end Feb. If the LL/agent does not want to issue a new fixed term you can simply stay on a Periodic (monthly) tenancy and see what action if any the LL then takes.

If you move out before the tenancy ends, your deposit will be used for the rent you owe and/or you could be taken to court. But dad is safe from action as he is not a guarantor!

princeofpounds

Agree with the others, you have a contract, you do not have a guarantor but that does not matter until it comes to a question of renewal. You do owe rent until end Feb.

But you must realise that ultimately it is the landlord, not the agent, that should be taking these decisions. And it is quite possible, given that the agents messed up, that they are not communicating properly with the landlord to cover their mistake.

First, be aware that you do not actually need to renew a tenancy to stay. If you do not leave the property, your tenancy does not end on Feb 29. You will enter a statutory periodic tenancy which is the same as your existing one except you need to give one month's notice to leave, your landlord needs to give you two (all to coincide with rental periods).

Have you been served with a Section 21 notice? If not, the landlord has not officially asked you to leave and the agent's words saying you cannot stay are just meaningless.

It is odd that they are now so insistent on a guarantor. Having already successfully largely completed a contract with no missed payments, that is normally a sufficient proof that you are not a joker. A landlord normally wants a guarantor to protect against missed payments. Kicking out a regularly paying tenant is a guaranteed void, which kind of defeats the object!

Try to contact the landlord direct. You may well find their opinion on this matter is not as black and white as the agents suggest. But perhaps it is, in which case you at least know where you stand.

BitterAndTwisted

It beggars belief that the agent/landlord handed over the keys without a guarantor signed up AND that they still haven't issued a Section 21 Notice.

woowoo24

Thanks for your replies..

I dont know if the landlord knows what's been going on, I doubt it as he obviously wouldnt be too happy about it..we've never had direct contact with him.

No they havent issued a section 21, all they've said so far is that we cant stay without a guarantor or changing the contract into my name so we've kind of said we'll leave anyway as we found the new house which has more to offer for the same price..

The new landlord wont wait longer as his current tenant is moving out on 3rd feb so he wants to get someone in as soon as with having his mortgage to pay..looks like we made a boo boo and will have a lot to pay out next month!!

amiehall

All I can say is that, if you haven't been served notice, you can continue to live in your current flat if you want.... They can't get you to leave without giving you 2 full rental periods of notice.

G_M

princeofpounds wrote: »

.......

It is odd that they are now so insistent on a guarantor. Having already successfully largely completed a contract with no missed payments, that is normally a sufficient proof that you are not a joker. A landlord normally wants a guarantor to protect against missed payments.

Ah but it's the agent that wants the Guarantor put in place, not the LL. The LL, I have no doubt, believes a guarantor agreement is already in place and the agent is desperately trying to get reality to match what he's promised his client - the LL.

princeofpounds

Actually my enquiry was a bit 'faux naïf', I had worked that out.:D

Agents, don't you love them?