Tenant Help Please.

StuBM

Hi all,

I apolagise that my first post is asking for help off the bat, but I'm hoping you guys can help me.

Please stick with me a bit long but just trying to give as much info as possible.......

We have been renting our flat for over 9 years, paying the landlady directly each month(no estate agents). She has recently come to the decision to sell the flat and move abroad, and a couple of weeks ago we received a termination of tenancy letter for end of January with the following statement in it...

'Should you vacate prior to this date then you would be required to pay that rent in full up to the date agreed, It would be appreciated if you could give us as much notice as possible if you find alternative accommodation?'

Now since we found out we had to move we have of course been looking for some where new to rent, after plenty of viewing and about 5 weeks we have finally found some else suitable, which we have started the process of checks etc. On Monday I emailed the LL to to say we had found some where and planned to move out on 29th December, giving 6 weeks notice.

She is now stating that we will still owe her the rent for January, is this correct?? I am really worried about it as I wont have the money, I have had to borrow the money for the new house which is over 2k. (just to add the LL gave us back the deposit years ago, i think she did not want the hassle of the saving scheme)

Thank you

Stu.

G_M

Read:


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?)

was the letter from the LL a S21 Notice?

Did you pay the LL a deposit? If so, is it registered? And did you receive the 'Prescribed Information'?

19lottie82

G_M wrote: »

Did you pay the LL a deposit? If so, is it registered? And did you receive the 'Prescribed Information'?

The OP states the LL returned the deposit years ago.

OP, have you recently signed a new fixed term (usually 6 or 12 month) agreement, or are you on a "rolling contract" (this means you haven't signed a new fixed term since your last one expired_)

What date did you move in to the property, and what date do you pay your rent each month?

StuBM

I read the attached 'G_M' and its making my head hurt.


OP, have you recently signed a new fixed term (usually 6 or 12 month) agreement, or are you on a "rolling contract" (this means you haven't signed a new fixed term since your last one expired_)
We haven't signed anything since we moved in 9 years ago, I would consider it a rolling contract.


What date did you move in to the property, and what date do you pay your rent each month?
I would have to look back at records to when we moved in, we pay on the 1st of each month.

[Deleted User]

If you have provided notice that is legally valid and if you're in a periodic tenancy (which for you is month to month) then no, you will not be legally liable for the rent for January if you have departed the property and the landlady cannot force you to pay. There is no deposit in play so she has no way to withhold money from you, so her only recourse would be through small claims and if you've provided valid notice she has no legitimate claim to any money and would not win.

You don't need to be worried unless there is a problem with your notice, as you've got more than a rental period to go you can make sure and send notice via snail mail (to the real world address of the landlady) just to cover all your legal bases, as I believe (although I'm not 100% sure) it's possible email might not count as it's not provable.

StuBM

Thank you for your help. I feel a lot better for talking to other people about this.

Stu.

StuBM

Sorry to bring this up again, but this morning I sent an official email to the LL saying when we plan to move out...this the reply I have received.


thank you for your notice and date you shall be vacating the flat.

Can you confirm if you are intending to pay rent to 31 January 2014 as per your written request to extend termination to this stipulated date?

Will and I would like to remind you that we have been more than fair with
you both in the 9 years you have been our tenants, giving you your deposit back, only increasing rent once in the 9 year period.We are not asking for any monies towards redecoration of the place, where you have painted over things, marked walls, written on doors where you have measured your kids etc. We are just asking you to stick to the agreement which was stated on our formal letter of termination to you
both.

We have been advised to have it established whether your intention is to pay or not this money, and have also been advised that there are ways we can re-coup this money otherwise.

We await your reply, in the meantime we can confirm that we shall collect keys from you both at 12 noon on the date you are vacating the flat.

With regards to viewing the flat over a weekend, should you not be available to allow access please can you email myself and the Estate Agents well in advance so we can arrange for Will or myself to accompany the Estate Agent and viewers at these times, a set of keys will be needed for this purpose,
please advise?

Thanking your for your help and cooperation in this matter.

Best wishes,


I s she trying to scare us into agreeing to pay?

lavalamp

Someone more knowledgeable will be along, but my initial thought is that if you pay until 31st January as she suggests, then you keep the keys until 31st January, she does not get them back when you move out, but when your tenancy ends! I know that's not the advice you want, you want to know if she can enforce this, but that's how you could cause difficulty for her if she can enforce it.

jamie11

It sounds as if your landlady has given you a standard S21 letter asking for the house back on 31st January, that is not a notice to quit, it merely allows her to start a possession claim in court which would take months.

If you intend to move out by the end of December you need to provide her with your own 1 month notice which must include a full tenancy period.
This will need to be served before the next tenancy period starts.

BitterAndTwisted

An "official email" is not giving formal WRITTEN notice.

Sounds like the landlord is attempting some not-so-subtle form of blackmail when mentioning the redecorating and marks on the paintwork. After nine years of tenancy the property will require decoration in any case, regardless of what you may have done to it. Think about this: the rent they are demanding and the threat of a claim against you towards any repair of damage you may have caused needs to be weighed up against the cost to them of chasing you through the court for it.

angrypirate

As you are on a rolling contract, you need to serve your landlord with 1 periods notice IN WRITING. Not email. This needs to be a letter addressed to your Landlord on paper.

If your period is 1 month (ie you pay rent monthly) and it runs from the 1st of the month, you need to service this notice before 1st Dec to expire on the 1st January. If the period runs from the 29th of the month, then you need to serve notice before the 29th November to expire on the 29th December.