Urgent Advice please - early termination of tenancy agreement due to fathers illness

Speedygjt

Hi all;
It would be great to get some decent replies to my unfortunate predicament.

2 months ago my parent and I signed a rental agreement for a year for a superb flat in Clapham. Unfortunately I was given the news that my father has been diagnosed with an incurable cancer, which has given him a life expectancy of 12-18 months – very upsetting to say the least.
In light of this, i want to be with him, or closer to him that i am (he lives in Cambridgeshire).

As there is no break clause within the original agreement between us and the landlord, surely there has to be some leniency for circumstances such as mine? What i’m planning to do is to meet the landlord (who seems a reasonable man) explain the situation and also offer to stay in the flat until he finds a new tenant. Of course i want to go asap and my partner will also come with me.

Does anyone have a view/suggestions or a similar story of success? I’m more than happy to be reasonable with the landlord, and also want the deposit back (inventory permitting of course).

Thanks in advance.

ognum

I think all you can do is keep lines of communication open with your landlord and hope he will agree to find a new tenant.

Your landlord is in buisness and while your circumstances are very sad he may not be able to afford to let you out of the agreement without cost.

Tenant finding through an agency costs between half and the whole of one months rent. New inventory has a cost as does cleaning. I think you would be expected to pay for these when a new tenant is found.

I am sorry to hear about your fathers illness and hope you get to move close to him soon.

BitterAndTwisted

Your landlord has no obligation to release you from your legally-binding responsibilities, no matter how compelling the reason. It's all down to a willingness to negotiate. Clapham is an easy place to find new tenants in, so I hope your landlord accepts your proposal.

In he first instance you should be clear that you will pay the rent until another suitable tenants can be found and will pay for all his reasonable costs in finding one.

HB58

I am sorry to hear about your father's illness.

All you can do is be honest with your landlord, offer to pay rent until he finds another tenant and pay his reasonable costs associated with this - then keep your fingers crossed.

Speedygjt

Thanks for that guys. We are willing to pay and to stay until he finds a new tenant. We will be as accommodating as we can re paying fees if needs be!

We know it's all down to agreement on both parties on how to move forward, but if he's heartless, it's not worth thinking about!

Okydoky25

I've done this twice before without any problems. I spoke with the agent explained I wanted to leave but would wait until the house was re let. I was lucky both went within days and I think the agents dont really mind as they get extra check in fees. I've not paid any extras for leaving early.

Panda78

Sorry to hear such terrible news. I had a similar situation where i had to leave my flat almost immediately. The LL wasn't happy, obviously and i lost my deposit, which is fair enough, but he did not ask me to pay rent until another tenant was found.

With renting in such high demand in London, it shouldn't take too long to find another tenant, then perhaps then your LL will return your deposit as a goodwill gesture given your circumstances.

Speedygjt

Thanks Panda,
I think it's all down to the negotiatoin with the LL, so hopefully it can be resolved quickly and with no pain. Flats in London (good ones) go quick, so i'm sure it wouldn't be long until a new occupier is found.

Speedygjt

Further to my original post (thanks to those who have contributed), i have had a promising start as the LL is willing to negotiate me leaving the property. We will be leaving in two months.