End fixed term tenancy early - Landlord being unreasonable?

oldbaldman

You have 5 months to deal with, is that correct?

What about one of you living at the main house and take in a couple of lodgers for the remainder of the tenancy?

Another issue with subletting is that you then have all the responsibilities of a LL, deposit protection, Gas safety certificates, declaration of earnings to HMRC etc.

Lodgers pay you and no need to declare, you would need to be careful that you live life as a LIL with lodgers.

Whoever lives at the house you have completed on could also take in lodgers?

obm

thesaint

300game wrote: »

We will put something together listing the guarantees we are offering to ensure he suffers no loss while sub-letting, if only to back up the unreasonable refusal argument.

If they unreasonably refuse could we still proceed to sub-let with any sub-tenants fully aware of the situation and agreements in place with ourselves? The LA have stated that any sub-tenants would be evicted immediately and sued for damages.
Could we be taken to court for losses arising from ending the tenancy early due to us breaching the terms by sub-letting or anything else for that matter?

If they will not let you sub-let, then you should leave the property empty, and stop paying rent.

Or, one of you stay and take in lodger(s).

pinkshoes

Just take in a lodger, and charge a premium rate as you will only be there Saturday nights...

this way you are not subletting, the LL cannot complain, and it costs you less.

If you don't like the lodger, get rid and get another one.

Nobbie1967

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

And this is the same reason is why your landlord doesn't want to take on a brand new tenancy right now.

He wants to sell the house in the spring. He's said this. New tenants mean he's stuck with them until at least next July. By the time he's prepped the house for sale after their departure, he's looking at the late summer/early autumn reduced demand period.
Even if he gets an offer immediately, completion likely won't be before the the colder, darker months and he'll have to pay the bills on the empty house.

This is why he wants his house on the market in the spring.

Getting new tenants doesn't change much as you could put a 6 month break clause in and be in the same position to evict in six months time.

If the LL insists on full rent until July, then it looks like getting in lodgers is the lowest risk option for the OP, but change the locks so the LL/estate agent can't get access for viewings. Maybe explain this to the LL and see if this changes his mind. If he's trying to sell it, he's going to want to have it on the market and viewable in spring I would have thought. The market generally goes quiet over summer, so a July exit date wouldn't be the best for them.

Pixie5740

300game wrote: »

We will put something together listing the guarantees we are offering to ensure he suffers no loss while sub-letting, if only to back up the unreasonable refusal argument.

If they unreasonably refuse could we still proceed to sub-let with any sub-tenants fully aware of the situation and agreements in place with ourselves? The LA have stated that any sub-tenants would be evicted immediately and sued for damages.
Could we be taken to court for losses arising from ending the tenancy early due to us breaching the terms by sub-letting or anything else for that matter?

If you go down the route of sub-letting then you will still be the tenants of your LL responsible for ensuring the rent is paid and either no damage is done to the property or paying for any damage done. You would be the LL of the sub-tenants so the sub-tenants would pay rent to you. If the sub-tenants don't pay you would need to pursue them for payment not your LL. If the sub-tenants damage the property you need to get them to pay for the damage which means you'd need a comprehensive and accurate inventory taken at the start of the sub-tenancy. If you take a deposit from the sub-tenants you would need to protect it or risk being sued. Like any other tenants with an AST the sub-tenants don't have to leave at the end of the fixed term. This route has the potential to get messy for you.

As for the lodger idea, I thought someone was only a lodger if they lived in the LL's main residence which these "lodgers" wouldn't be as this rental property would no longer be your main home. Certainly the rent a room scheme is only available to people who rent out a room in their only or main home so you wouldn't be able to use it and would have to declare the income to HMRC in some other way.

lighting_up_the_chalice

You could always just stop paying the rent and let the LL serve S8 on you. Not without drawbacks, but it might serve your purpose.

Takeaway_Addict

Nobbie1967 wrote: »

Getting new tenants doesn't change much as you could put a 6 month break clause in and be in the same position to evict in six months time.

If the LL insists on full rent until July, then it looks like getting in lodgers is the lowest risk option for the OP, but change the locks so the LL/estate agent can't get access for viewings. Maybe explain this to the LL and see if this changes his mind. If he's trying to sell it, he's going to want to have it on the market and viewable in spring I would have thought. The market generally goes quiet over summer, so a July exit date wouldn't be the best for them.

The issue for the landlord is though that new tenants could end up being another 5 months to evict them whereas he knows the OP wants out and isn't going to play silly beggers that cost them money going through the courts.

The landlord is sensible considering the situation to hold the OP to their contract.

300game

Thanks for your input, we have gone away from the idea of subletting either with permission or without as it would prove too much hassle.

The lodger solution is still our primary route but wont become viable until the New year.

We are looking into the possibility of assigning the contract to new tenants.

Having read through the agreement last night it contains the following term under the Tenants responsibility:

"Not assign, underlet or part with or share possession of the whole or any part of the Property without the permission of the Landlord, such permission not to be unreasonably withheld."

As such we have sought permission from the LL through the LA to assign the contract over to the new tenants we have found (whose details they have had for a week or so now) who would take on the remainder of the agreement under the same conditions with the same end date.

Takeaway_Addict

300game wrote: »

Thanks for your input, we have gone away from the idea of subletting either with permission or without as it would prove too much hassle.

The lodger solution is still our primary route but wont become viable until the New year.

We are looking into the possibility of assigning the contract to new tenants.

Having read through the agreement last night it contains the following term under the Tenants responsibility:

"Not assign, underlet or part with or share possession of the whole or any part of the Property without the permission of the Landlord, such permission not to be unreasonably withheld."

As such we have sought permission from the LL through the LA to assign the contract over to the new tenants we have found (whose details they have had for a week or so now) who would take on the remainder of the agreement under the same conditions with the same end date.

But as I pointed out, they know you are not going to cause issues after 12 months whereas the risk increases with new tenants that might just stay put, why on earth would they allow this considering they want to sell up around the time you want to leave?

300game

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

But as I pointed out, they know you are not going to cause issues after 12 months whereas the risk increases with new tenants that might just stay put, why on earth would they allow this considering they want to sell up around the time you want to leave?

If we assign the tenancy over, as I understand it the new tenants have no further rights than we do and would be held to the original 12 months end date under the same conditions (that being one of differences between assigning and subletting). The LA have already told us that the LL could defer the completion of sale to month 12 if we didnt agree to end early and charge us rent for the full period.
So if we were to assign the tenancy over in month 6 they could still list the property for sale in month 8, serve notice in month 10 and complete the sale in month 12. A good opportunity for anyone looking for a 6 month let and the LL gets a full 12 months of rent.

My argument is that I dont think its reasonable to withhold permission to assign the tenancy over based on the grounds that the LL wishes to sell in month 8 without any hassle, if thats the case then why not let us surrender in month 8, oh wait, because he wants someone to pay the rent until its sold, regardless of whether we live there or not.

By not being unreasonable in not granting permission to sublet or assign the contract I believe this to be in contravention to the landlord and tenant act 1927 and as such would further our argument of simply walking away in month 7 should the lodging solution not play out.

Any advice much appreciated. :T