Early termination of 12-month contract

brownbabygirl

Hi,

I am wondering of other people's experience of terminating early is. Having asked to terminate 3 months early, we have been asked that it is permitted so long as we find a suitable alternative AND pay letting fees of over £600. It seems he wants to have his cake and eat it too. So if it takes them those 3 months to find someone, we would have had to pay rent as usual plus the letting fee, which I assume the landlord would have had to pay in 3 months time to the EA anyway. We will stick to keeping the place until end of the contract as otherwise it does not make sense. It is a roundabout way of them saying no anyway. I don't have much experience of this and wondered what others have had to pay re early termination.

sandsni

Strictly speaking you are liable for the rent for the whole term of the contract you signed. It is common that, if an early surrender is agreed by both parties, the tenant pays the extra costs the LL would incur due to the early surrender (rent for the void period + letting costs). This is at the discretion of the LL, but from what I can gather it's the usual scenario.

TBH we were so glad to see the back of the previous tenants we let them go without any penalty ;-)

brownbabygirl

sandsni wrote: »

Strictly speaking you are liable for the rent for the whole term of the contract you signed. It is common that, if an early surrender is agreed by both parties, the tenant pays the extra costs the LL would incur due to the early surrender (rent for the void period + letting costs). This is at the discretion of the LL, but from what I can gather it's the usual scenario.

TBH we were so glad to see the back of the previous tenants we let them go without any penalty ;-)

haha ok thanks. i am just puzzled he would have had to pay the letting costs anyway. plus it might take that long to find someone so he is not really releasing us as such. anyway, thanks for your input!:T

G_M

It is entirely up to the landlord what conditions he wishes to impose, if any, to release you from your contractual liability.

It is entirely up to you whether you
* accept those conditions
* decline them and see the contract through or
* try to negotiate a compromise

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?)

Who are talkingto: landlord or agent?

brownbabygirl

G_M wrote: »

Who are talkingto: landlord or agent?

sent LL 2 emails but no reply then after 4 weeks spoke to agent who said they would speak to LL. although, i must add the EA does not manage the property but do have contact with LL.

G_M

If the agent does not manage the property I would be cautious of any agreement with them. You have no way of knowing if they are authorised to make the agreement.

WRITE to the LL.

(if you have no address for the LL, you do not needtopay rent! - Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 )

wannahouse

i think that is very reasonable of them, and is pretty much standard!
he paid his letting fees (which is a percentage of your total rental contract) expecting an income for 12 mths...
if every tenant did this to him, instead of paying a letting fee yearly, he would end up incurring the expense much more often, leaving him out of pocket.
if you want to break your end of the contract, you have to pay his expenses.
as a tenant, we have had to pay this out a few times, when circumstances dictated the move, and i found if you want to move on its better to just move on when you need to and pay the fee and be done with it, as sticking in a place you don't want to be becomes a drag.
best of luck.

brownbabygirl

thanks all for your input! really appreciated.