Surrendering tenancy - any pitfalls?

Sonofa

Hi,

Hopefully a straightforward question and answer, but your opinions would be welcome.

The situation is than my son and his partner have ended their relationship, but are midway through a 12 month contract. Initially they asked the letting agent about ending the tenancy and were told their only option was to pay for re-advertisment and continue to pay rent until such time as new tenant were found.The fee would be roughly half a month's rent. So they would incur costs but only, potentially, get out of the house and liability sooner than the remaining 6 months.

Moving on a couple weeks and asking the question of the letting agent again (maybe a different person) they were told that they could get out of the contact by surrendering the tenancy; this would mean giving just a month's notice and they would lose their deposit (1 month's rent).

They had sort of resigned themselves to having to continue living together in the hope that they could manage to remain civil, but as these situations rarely do, they are now considering this latest suggestion.

My questions are only really are there any implications to be aware of when surrendering a tenancy? Could it have implications on credit rating? Will they get a reference?

Is the loss of deposit usual? I didn't think deposits could be used in this manner, but I really don't have any experience of renting.

Thanks in advance

mrginge

They can only get out of the tenancy through a break clause or by agreement with the landlord. There is no standard concept of 'surrendering a tenancy'.
They should officially ask the LL if they can break their lease and see what terms are requested. The LL may come back with either of the above or something completely different.

Personally i seriously doubt whether a LL would agree to one months notice and the full deposit, but you never know...

jjlandlord

mrginge wrote: »

They should officially ask the LL if they can break their lease and see what terms are requested.

Yes that's called "offering to surrender the tenancy". Surrender of tenancy is a very standard concept.
The landlord must accept the offer for the tenancy to actually end.

In the case of OP's son, both scenarios reflect agreements to surrender the tenancy, either:
1. On the condition that the tenant pays marketing fees and that a new tenancy be agreed with another tenant.
2. On the condition that the tenancy continues for a month and that the tenant pays the equivalent of one month rent.

Personally, as a tenant I would only agree to (1) on the condition that my total payment does not exceed the rent I have to pay until the natural end of the tenancy, as otherwise I might end up paying more.

G_M

Read the tenancy agreement. Is there a 'Break Clause'? If yes, read the conditions. Typically, but not always, this allows either side to end 12 month tenancy after 6 months, by giving notice.

If there is no Break Clause, the only solution is to offer to surrender the tenancy. The landlord can refuse, or can accept. Typically if the LL accepts he will impose conditions eg pay rent till new tenant found and/or pay mareting fees etc, but he can impose whatever conditions he wishes. The tenant can then either accept the conditions, or allow th tenancy to continue.

Often it's better to discuss direct with the LL, not his agent.

Get any agreement confirmed in writing.

mrginge

jjlandlord wrote: »

Yes that's called "offering to surrender the tenancy". Surrender of tenancy is a very standard concept.

What i meant was that there are no standard terms applied to a surrender, which is the impression the OP seemed to have got.

They were suggesting that the term 'surrender' = 1 months notice and loss of deposit.

Sonofa

Hi thanks for all your replies.

mrgrunge, I was more trying to understand if it was a standard term and if it was, if there were standard(ish) conditions applied to it.

I now appreciate that this is just a generalisation.

In this instance the LA has suggested the terms of 1 month notice and loss of deposit. I'm getting the impression that this might not be too bad of a deal, but that my son needs to ensure that this is acceptable to the LL and get it in writing, rather than taking the LA's word for it.

Whilst I can't say for sure, I think my son would have scrutinized the tenancy agreement and found a break clause if there was one. However, I will ask him.

My main concern for him was with regard to credit history rather than anything else. Since nobody has mentioned this, I'll assume it's not going to be an issue.

A few quid to put this unhappy situation behind him is money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

G_M

Sonofa wrote: »

.... my son needs to ensure that this is acceptable to the LL and get it in writing, rather than taking the LA's word for it.

If your son gets this confirmed in writing by the LA that is as good as the LL confirming it.

The agent is acting as.... well, the landlord's agent, and as such it is legally binding. But certainly get it in writing.