Over-holding rent

Kryptos

Hello everyone,

Before I post this, I would like to ask you to please refrain from any negative comments, I'm only posting here for advice.

Ok so here it goes.. me, my wife and our baby live in a rented accommodation, we had a 6 month contract and it expired last year, however, we continued to pay monthly rent to the landlord..a while ago we gave him/her a month's notice that we will be leaving..however..due to unexpected circumstances with a letting agent and a mix up with availability dates on the new accommodation, we will be unable to relocate on the day the contract ends, but instead 2 weeks later.

I've asked the landlord if he/she can let us stay the extra 2 weeks and he/she agreed provided that the potential new tenant will fail her reference checks or agrees with the new term.

If anyone has any experience with something similar or has been through this, can you please advise on what is the best approach?

I am thinking one of the following:

1. Move all our stuff (almost a van full) to a storage space and keep some of the critical stuff for us & baby and move to a B&B or guest house for the 2 weeks.

2. Explain to him/her that it's really not possible to move and we have nowhere to go, B&B being very expensive, us having a baby with a lot of stuff to move and we are willing to pay half a month's rent to the new tenant for the hassle so she can let us stay the extra 2 weeks, or accept the new tenant to move in with us in the 2nd bedroom without having to pay any rent nor utilities for the 2 weeks.

Please advise, what is the worst that can happen if we choose option 2? Can we receive negative references which will affect us renting in the future or be sent an eviction order (even if that takes about 2 weeks, which by the time is received we'd have left the property?).

Thanks all !

pyueck

Kryptos wrote: »

Hello everyone,

Before I post this, I would like to ask you to please refrain from any negative comments, I'm only posting here for advice.

Ok so here it goes.. me, my wife and our baby live in a rented accommodation, we had a 6 month contract and it expired last year, however, we continued to pay monthly rent to the landlord..a while ago we gave him/her a month's notice that we will be leaving..however..due to unexpected circumstances with a letting agent and a mix up with availability dates on the new accommodation, we will be unable to relocate on the day the contract ends, but instead 2 weeks later.

I've asked the landlord if he can let us stay the extra 2 weeks and he/she agreed provided that the potential new tenant will fail her reference checks or agrees with the new term.

If anyone has any experience with something similar or has been through this, can you please advise on what is the best approach?

I am thinking one of the following:

1. Move all our stuff (almost a van full) to a storage space and keep some of the critical stuff for us & baby and move to a B&B or guest house for the 2 weeks.

2. Explain to him that it's really not possible to move and we have nowhere to go, B&B being very expensive, us having a baby with a lot of stuff to move and we are willing to pay half a month's rent to the new tenant for the hassle so she can let us stay the extra 2 weeks, or accept the new tenant to move in with us in the 2nd bedroom without having to pay any rent nor utilities for the 2 weeks.

Please advise, what is the worst that can happen if we choose option 2? Can we receive negative references which will affect us renting in the future or be sent an eviction order (even if that takes about 2 weeks, which by the time is received we'd have left the property?).

Thanks all !

The landlord cannot evict you without a court order. The issue with what happens with the property after you leave is the landlords, not yours.

If you stay beyond agreed end date the worst that can happen is 1) the landlord can if you have previously provided written confirmation that you intend to leave the property, apply to the court for you to be evicted (will take much longer than 2 weeks), 2) in theory the landlord can sue you for damages he has incurred due to you not moving out, 3) reference could be impacted, but landlord would be crazy to do this as this is likely to make it less likely you will get somewhere new, 4) charge you until the end of the rental period (pro-rated rates for half month's is at the landlords discretion).

The option of sharing with the new tenants is not an option for many many reasons!

mrginge

You could be liable for double rent for the additional period.
You could receive negative references.
You could be liable for eviction costs.
You could be liable for the LL's other direct losses due to your failure to leave.
If the LL has agreed a contract with the new tenant then they could sue the LL and you could then be liable for these costs.

You will note my use of the word 'could' in all this.


On a more positive note, it is a beautiful day today and I am just tucking into a custard donut.

G_M

Distress For Rent Act 1747 S18 (Double rent if tenant fails to leave after giving notice) explanation

Ugh! I hate custard.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Legally you can stay, risking a bad reference and being pursued for the rent you owe. Morally you should kip with friends or at a cheap B&B as all this is hardly the fault of the incoming tenant.

Kryptos

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Legally you can stay, risking a bad reference and being pursued for the rent you owe. Morally you should kip with friends or at a cheap B&B as all this is hardly the fault of the incoming tenant.

Thanks for the honest opinion, it's a big hassle to move with a baby and a lot of stuff, (no friends to stay at) but you're right, it's not morally right to do this to the new tenant either. Now one more question. If I do get a bad reference because of this, is it highly likely that a future new tenancy will be affected because of this?

princeofpounds

Before I post this, I would like to ask you to please refrain from any negative comments, I'm only posting here for advice.

What's all that about? On this sub-board, we generally deal with telling people the reality of their situations and ways to manage it. Sometimes reality is less positive than expectations.

I think the others have pretty much summed it up though. It's only two weeks - easiest for everyone if you just go on 'holiday' to a B&B or a relative's place.

Kryptos

G_M wrote: »

(Double rent if tenant fails to leave after giving notice)

Ugh! I hate custard.

Thanks very much for that link !! It's of great help, just so I understand correctly, do I have to pay double the month's rent or double the 2 weeks(which I plan on staying) which ends up being 4 weeks rent ?

If that's the case, then it's a lot better than B&B... is it possible that I also lose the deposit on top of paying the double rent?

Kryptos

princeofpounds wrote: »

What's all that about? On this sub-board, we generally deal with telling people the reality of their situations and ways to manage it. Sometimes reality is less positive than expectations.

I think the others have pretty much summed it up though. It's only two weeks - easiest for everyone if you just go on 'holiday' to a B&B or a relative's place.

Thanks, I really would, but it's costing me a fortune + stress on top of it, such as, carrying all my stuff to a storage..not having access to everything I might need in those 2 weeks. Having a baby with me..bathing him, washing his clothes regularly. So we're talking £700 for the 2 weeks at B&B + £30 for storage + £100 for renting a van once... another £100 for renting a van when moving out of the B&B to the new place, which brings it to a total of £930 and the hassle.

If I stay, it will be £400 - £500 double rent and only paying for van once..baby will also be fine as no change of environment and everything will be as usual.

PS: No relatives in the UK.

G_M

Kryptos wrote: »

Thanks very much for that link !! It's of great help, just so I understand correctly, do I have to pay double the month's rent or double the 2 weeks(which I plan on staying) which ends up being 4 weeks rent ?

If that's the case, then it's a lot better than B&B... is it possible that I also lose the deposit on top of paying the double rent?

As it says in the explanation:

The landlord may not seek double rent for a full period of the tenancy (as this would be inconsistent with treating the tenant as a trespasser) and must charge it on a daily basis.

Bear in mind the other potential costs as listed by mrginge

SerialRenter

Kryptos wrote: »

Thanks very much for that link !! It's of great help, just so I understand correctly, do I have to pay double the month's rent or double the 2 weeks(which I plan on staying) which ends up being 4 weeks rent ?

If that's the case, then it's a lot better than B&B... is it possible that I also lose the deposit on top of paying the double rent?

It's possible to still lose your deposit, but not because you're staying longer. Normal deposit rules apply

Read G_M's post here for some more info on the topic:
* Deposits (under development)