Written record of agreement to sign contract

Essar

Hello,

I know that if you have a verbal tenancy agreement along with proof of payment etc. then you might be legally considered a tenant.

However, I've got a somewhat different situation:

I had agreed with a landlord to sign a proper tenancy agreement upon moving in, which was to take place a week from now. We've had this agreement for about a month and all communication was done through emails, so there is a written record. Just yesterday they decided to renege on that agreement which puts me in a really tough situation of having to find a house within a week. In the course of our email correspondence they sent a scanned copy of the contract that I would be signing if I agreed to rent, though I emphasise that we never met to actually sign the contract and no payments have been made yet.

I was wondering, is there any legal recourse if there is an email agreement to SIGN a tenancy contract, with agreed moving dates but it has not been signed yet? Frankly, I don't really want to deal with this landlord further and if I can find somewhere else, I will, but I'd also rather be a pushy git than a homeless one.

G_M

I'm guessing, but I imagine a promise, or undertaking, to sign a contract does not create a contract.

If it did, the written contract would be superfluous.

Furthermore, for the promise itself were an enforcible contract (requiring the parties to sign on the date agreed by the promise), there would have to be 'consideration' by both parties. But since no payment changed hands, and neither side is giving anything to the other as part of the promise, the promise cannot of itself be a contract.

Hence either side can change their mind until the actual contract has been signed.

The situation would have been different if, instead of promising to sign on the agreed date, an actual tenancy had been verbally offered, and accepted, and payment made, then that would have created a contract.

So the actual words used in your discussions, and various emails, will be critical should you wish to claim breach of contract and compensation for any financial losses.

Ideally, as always, though, an amicable agreement is best, so hopefully the landlord will understand, and sympathise with, your predicament, and offer any practical or financial help he can.

Essar

Ah thank you for your detailed reply. Yes, I agree that an amicable agreement is best but I'm asking partly for my curiosity and partly as an absolute last resort.

I should mention: the reason the contract was withdrawn is because I am male and, one of the current tenants said she wouldn't be comfortable sharing with a male (I think the landlord should have checked this far earlier). This is especially bizarre because I am actually replacing a male tenant, so it's not like she's religiously opposed to it or anything. I'm not really sure what's happening there.

Now obviously I don't want to live with someone who doesn't feel comfortable living with me which is an extra motivator to just find somewhere else. As a follow up question though, is it legal to withdraw an offer because of the sex of the tenant?

jjlandlord

If you have agreed a move in date and payment of rent, I think difficult to deny that a contract for a tenancy has been formed.
Consideration can be the promise to pay.

G_M

Just to clarify: is this an HMO?

Or is (sorry, was) the intention to create a single 'joint and several' tenancy signed by all the tenants involved?

Sex is one of the 'protected characteristics'. It is illegal to discriminate on these grounds. This applies when buying or renting property.

Equality Act 2010 (Part 4 Premises)

38Interpretation and exceptions

(1)This section applies for the purposes of this Part.

(2)A reference to premises is a reference to the whole or part of the premises.

(3)A reference to disposing of premises includes, in the case of premises subject to a tenancy, a reference to—

(a)assigning the premises,

(b)sub-letting them, or

(c)parting with possession of them.

(4)A reference to disposing of premises also includes a reference to granting a right to occupy them.

(5)A reference to disposing of an interest in a commonhold unit includes a reference to creating an interest in a commonhold unit.

(6)A reference to a tenancy is to a tenancy created (whether before or after the passing of this Act)—

(a)by a lease or sub-lease,

(b)by an agreement for a lease or sub-lease,

(c)by a tenancy agreement, or

(d)in pursuance of an enactment,

and a reference to a tenant is to be construed accordingly.

(7)A reference to commonhold land, a commonhold association, a commonhold community statement, a commonhold unit or a unit-holder is to be construed in accordance with the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.

(8)Schedule 4 (reasonable adjustments) has effect.

(9)Schedule 5 (exceptions) has effect.

However, note the exception that applies (schedule 5) to 'small premises'.

----

Small premises

3(1)This paragraph applies to anything done by a person in relation to the disposal, occupation or management of part of small premises if—

(a)the person or a relative of that person resides, and intends to continue to reside, in another part of the premises, and

(b)the premises include parts (other than storage areas and means of access) shared with residents of the premises who are not members of the same household as the resident mentioned in paragraph (a).

(2)Sections 33(1), 34(1) and 35(1) apply only in so far as they relate to race.

(3)Premises are small if—

(a)the only other persons occupying the accommodation occupied by the resident mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(a) are members of the same household,

(b)the premises also include accommodation for at least one other household,

(c)the accommodation for each of those other households is let, or available for letting, on a separate tenancy or similar agreement, and

(d)the premises are not normally sufficient to accommodate more than two other households.

Essar

I think it qualifies as an HMO, but am not 100% sure. I can tell you that there used to be 4 people in the house (1 couple and two others), none of them relatives of the owner as defined above.

Currently, there remains one tenant, also not a relative of the owner. The rooms are let individually and there are 3 rooms, all with double beds.

bris

Then it is a HMO.

The email you have would suggest a tenancy has been agreed and you would win in court. Contracts don't always need to be signed, so the email would suffice.

The problem you have is that you need somewhere now and with court taking months, time is not on your side so you will have to let it go and find somewhere now.