Leaving before tenancy ends - council tax

CIS

For council tax purposes you would remain liable for the council tax until such time as tenancy ends or the property is re-occupied.

tbs624

newbian wrote: »

We are leaving our rented property to move into one we have purchased.Our landlord is based abroad and would not give us a break clause, so therewill be a few months left on the tenancy when we leave. We agreed to pay rentuntil LL finds a new tenant or until the lease expires. The LL has an agentmarketing the flat.....

As your LL is abroad, have you been provided with an address in either Eng or Wales at which Notices relating to the tenancy may be served? You mention that an LA is handling the re-marketing but don't say whether or not they are responsible for managing your current tenancy.

If no appropriate address was given to you then no rent is due to the LL until that has been provided.

newbian

poppysarah wrote: »

The landlord has to make efforts to relet the tenancy. They can't just opt for an easy life of not trying.

Can you find someone?

The rent being asked for is ridiculous. There are two other 1 beds available in the building, both going for less, in one case by several hundred pounds per month. If I'd had 1 viewing in 2 months, whether or not I had my current tenants paying rent for a bit longer I'd be very worried. I cannot understand how he can claim to be making an effort to relet the flat when it is priced so out of whack with the local market.

We're not sure how to bring up the issue because we don't to anger him or the agent as we do want our deposit back. We knew we could end up in this situation and we can afford it, but it's just very frustrating.

newbian

tbs624 wrote: »

As your LL is abroad, have you been provided with an address in either Eng or Wales at which Notices relating to the tenancy may be served? You mention that an LA is handling the re-marketing but don't say whether or not they are responsible for managing your current tenancy.

If no appropriate address was given to you then no rent is due to the LL until that has been provided.

There is a letting agent and a managing agent - used to be the same company but due to poor service the managing agent was changed last year. LA however is the agent through which the tenancy was agreed.

LL's local address is in care of the managing agent.

Smi1er

Did you rent furnished? Or un-furnished?

If it was unfurnished then when you move out tell the council and should be able to receive excemption for a short while

sussexchick

Hi

I'm in the exact same situation myself having to pay for 2 rental properties as my job became redundant in one area, but was offered another job in another area.

You need to call your local council and ask the question. Keep the LA and LL out of the equation (you say you are worried about losing your deposit if you rattle their cages) - the deposit is there incase you default on your rent or cause damage to the property, NOT for simply asking questions.

The council were very helpful and gave me some grace when I sobbed down the phone, :eek: after explaining what a mean and spiteful LL I had. (he's a Rigsby-esq type).

And yes, the LA don't seem particularly bothered about reletting/finding a new tenant quickly when you are paying (simply, they don't need to) !

I'm having to shell out for my previous tenancy + all the bills for a further 4 months when I don't even live there.

I want to wish you well in your new OWN home though and hopefully, you'll get a nice advisor at the council

wannahouse

poppysarah wrote: »

The landlord has to make efforts to relet the tenancy. They can't just opt for an easy life of not trying.

Can you find someone?

actually no, they don't!

a standard AST will say that a landlord does not even have to entertain letting you out of your lease early if they don't want to, for whatever reason, so you can leave early, they can't physically stop you, but they don't have to look for anyone until the end of the lease if they don't want to...
its you who has decided to break the contract early, and if he was wanting to put the rent up after your term, why should he have to take another 12 mth let at the same rate he was charging you, when he would have been able to seek more after your term was up?


i would suggest maybe you could just pay off the value of the lease and surrender it early, so at least you have fufilled the cost of your contract, but avoid paying the council tax etc any further...that way the landlord has right to enter the property and do whatever,whether it gets relet or left vacant and you aren't responsible for care of the garden and other things..then you can draw a line, checkout ,get your bond back and wash your hands of it...

its incredibly annoying when you need to leave a property early- we have had to do it twice, and it gets expensive..i resent shelling out money that i get no benefit from, but understand why i have had to...on the flip side of it, we have tenants leaving our place early at the moment, and its a right pain for us, as its not the best time of year,to get the kind of tenants we usually get and they want to leave in the middle of the school term instead of summer holidays which makes it difficult doing the checkout and reset etc, as we live hours away,have kids at school so can't come down during term, and don't think the agents are thorough enough to trust them with it...

hope all works out for you though...

wannahouse

newbian wrote: »

The rent being asked for is ridiculous. There are two other 1 beds available in the building, both going for less, in one case by several hundred pounds per month. If I'd had 1 viewing in 2 months, whether or not I had my current tenants paying rent for a bit longer I'd be very worried. I cannot understand how he can claim to be making an effort to relet the flat when it is priced so out of whack with the local market.

We're not sure how to bring up the issue because we don't to anger him or the agent as we do want our deposit back. We knew we could end up in this situation and we can afford it, but it's just very frustrating.

its none of your business what he's asking for rent really..nothing you can do about it, as he DOESN'T even have to make the effort to find tenants...annoying, but you are bound contractually to pay for that period, and you are the one making the choice to end it , not him....

imagine if he turned during your tenancy to turf you out?
he can't even do that even if you don't pay...
the law is there to protect both parties, and unfortunately he has the upper hand on this one...

whalster

Fire_Fox wrote: »

As tenants you are still liable for the council tax until the tenancy is formally ended. Landlord is not permitted to access or use the property so does not have to pay, it is the legal occupier's responsibility and you remain that whilst in contract even if you are not actually staying in the house. If the place is empty of furniture you may be able to pay a reduced rate.

As has been said with the new council tax rules you are lucky to have any exemption when empty but many councils still give some, mine gives a free month and then a 20% discount however the local authority next to it where I also have property has no free month but still a little discount for 6 months , it iis another total mess in my mind but hey ho.
If your local council offers a free period or a discount if I were you I would apply for it let your landlord know or his agent and also let them know that when you do this you will be using up all or in part of the LL's exemption