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Ending tenancy

noddynoo
Posts: 346 Forumite


Hi We have been renting a house for 20 months. After 3 months the letting agents went bust and the owners buried their heads in the sand and left us paying them direct with no agent for 6 months. They then came back from abroad and instructed a local agent to sell and then changed their mind when it got no viewings and here we are. We started complaining about damp month 4 and they did nothing apart from say use a dehumidifier. We did this but nothing changed and agent sent round all manner of builders took pics etc.All builders said it wasn't a quick fix job as def not condensation just very old house. We have waited and waited so 2 winters now and they have done nothing.Now they have given us 2 months notice to get out so we have paid their mortgage and they had no intention of fixing it! I want to move out now as we can and I wonder if I can leave tenancy early as they didn't sort the problems out. There is no deposit as the first agent ran off with it as it wasn't in a scheme and they also took 2 months rent from us!
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Comments
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If you are on a periodic (monthly) tenancy, which it sounds like you could be, then you can give a month's notice, to end on a monthly tenancy end date - usually this will be the day before next rent is due, but not always so check dates on your tenancy agreement.
Your comments about the deposit are in fact wrong - you do have a deposit and the fact that the original agent did not protect and the funds disappeared means your LL is liable for its return in full. I would give them notice - allow them to accept this, then the day you leave, write them a "letter before action" advising that as the deposit has been "lost" by the agent they employed, then they should return it, or you will sue them, not only for the full deposit amount, but the suggested 1-3x penalty for failing to ensure it was correctly protected!0 -
HI thanks for teh reply. We don't have a deposit as we paid half rent for 2 months to recoup it and then we just lost out pet deposit of £250. I want to move out at teh end of this month so 2 weeks away as I know they are only kicking us out so that they can let it again privately and not fix the damp! We have thrown away literally £££££££ of things that got ruined and paid hundreds running the dehumidifier. We can go now as someone has offered us somewhere but I don't want to get in trouble!0
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You can move out whenever you want, but you will be liable for rent until your tenancy expires. Therefore you will be paying double rent on this, and your new place, until the tenancy expires - unless your LL agrees to an earlier surrender (which they may do if they want you to leave).
If they do agree an earlier surrender, get it in writing.0 -
1) Agree an "Early Surrender" with the LL (in writing.)
2) without this, you must pay rent till the tenancy ends - so give notice. See:
Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)
3) If you have received back the deposit from the LL (& and then given it back to the LL as rent) then he does not have a deposit.
4) However you mention a 'pet deposit'. What is this? It is a deposit! Is it registered in a scheme? If not, as advised above you can sue for 3 times (up to £750) + the deposit (=£1000). This might be a bargaining chip to persuade the LL to agree to an Early Surrender.0 -
I am going to ring today. They gave us 2 months to go so 5 July I want to leave 5 June. I have waited 16 months in a damp manky house while they pretended they were going to fix it. Endless tradesmen etc. The pet deposit was paid to the old agent in cash and the landlords are having nothing to do with it.0
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What can they do if we just move out?0
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What can they do if we just move out?
Sue you for the rent owed up to the point when your required notice would have expired - do you want to risk a CCJ against you which will affect your ability to rent, get credit, mortgage etc for the foreseeable future.
You can leave when you like, so long as you pay the rent owed up to the point where your valid notice would end.
The notice they have given you does not end the tenancy, and has no bearing on you giving your own notice to leave. Once the S21 notice expires, the LL would need to apply to court to get oyu out, so even if it is dated 5 July, that is not the date you have to leave or when your tenancy will end.
If you have problems with a damp and manky property, the time to get shirty was during the tenancy when the LL ignored your request to get it sorted. You could have raised hell with EHO and got them in deep do-do, but using it now as an excuse for not complying with your own notice requirements won't really get you anywhere.
Re the deposit, if you want it back, you have a right to sue the LL - LL is ALWAYS responsible for the security of the tenant's deposit, and should be liable for its return. However, if you paid cash with no receipt or proof of payment, then more fool you - lesson learned, don't do this again!0 -
I don't like your tone and what you are implying. the letting agency last sent a builder 3 weeks ago! I have registered a complaint at the council and they have photos etc. I want to move out now to suit me as they are only asking us to leave as they know that they can't postpone the work any longer while we are here. I have written to agent and asked to end tenancy on 5 June and they will put it to them. We were without an agent for 9 months last year in which time the electrics blew and I had them fixed and the washing machine flooded and I dealt with that too while they were abroad with their head in the sand. They then said they were selling and we started to look for a place and then they changed their mind 2 weeks later and said we could stay and they would do repairs. I am not unreasonable in any way and hope they do the right thing. I have lots of photos of rotten clothes etc and fwiw the new agent they instructed came round twice and took pics they were so shocked. I have a flat which i own outright so am not bothered about credit but will see what they say. How can they say no when the place is so bad0
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The deposit wasn't protected becasue the agent (original one)was dodgy fake forms the lot! We paid it by cheque. We have recouped it now but the £250 was our own fault so will swallow that0
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I don't like your tone and what you are implying.The pet deposit was paid to the old agent in cash and the landlords are having nothing to do with it.
2) or is the pet deposit mentioned in the tenancy agreement
3) or do you have any other evidence you paid it
If answer to all 3 is 'no', well, sorry about my 'tone' but you are a fool.
If the answer to any of the above is 'yes' then the Landlord is liable and you can take him tocourt (for £1000 as previously advised).I want to move out now to suit meWe were without an agent for 9 months last year in which time ....0
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