Never signed or saw tenancy agreement, can I leave early?

MBer13

Hi, I'm currently renting a room in a 5-bedroom student house. I came in part-way through their tenancy because another student left, and I returned to uni 2 months late. I sorted and signed guarantor forms, references, paid my deposit etc.

I later received an email asking me to come and sign the tenancy agreement so they could protect my/everyones deposit. I was really busy at the time catching up with uni work, and having just moved in, I never went. I never heard any more of it. I have never even seen the tenancy agreement (wasn't emailed to me).

I am now in a position where I want to leave my tenancy early and work abroad for the summer. I am hoping to leave at the start of June, and my/everyone else's tenancy ends 2-3 months after this. My question is, if I never saw or signed a tenancy agreement, surely there is only a verbal contract? Does this give me the right to leave early/when I want?

I am worried the letting agent will force the rest of the tenants to pay my share of the rent, can they do this?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

G_M

Your verbalcontract is whatever the two parties indicated/agreed.

What was said?

In the event of a dispute over memories, a court might imply that you would have been offerred (and accepted) a contract aligned with the others in the property as this is a student set-up, with standard student terms (contract periods).

I take it you each have seperate tenancies: ie each tenant rents their room in the property on an individual contract?

Though your comment about registering 'everyones deposit' implies perhaps you are all on the same 'joint and several' tenancy, in which case you can only act jointly. Oneof you leaving would not end the tenany, nor that joint tenant's liability.

BitterAndTwisted

The mention of everyone's deposit suggests that you have a joint-tenancy. If you decide to leave early without finding a replacement then I suspect you will be liable for the rent for the remainder of the AST and you can be certain that they will deduct what's owed from the deposit of your house-mates of you don't pay it yourself.

Or, of course, they could decide to chase you through the courts for the money you will owe them. They are likely to do whatever is least troublesome/expensive.

No-one wants to come back from a sojourn abroad and find they have acquired a CCJ. That would prevent you from renting again in your own name, never mind getting any credit in the future.

How about coming clean with the landlord and negotiating?

[Deleted User]

Quite likely that they may chase your guarantor for the missing rent. If you've been living there, paid rent, sorted guarantee documents, its quite easy for the LL to say you had an implied tenancy same as the other tenants.

It looks like you will have to decide how to cover the rent before/whilst going abroad. Or not go. Its one of the costs of going abroad.

Or you could leave your guarantor.., housemates to cover the rent. I shall make no comment about that. Sure others will.

jbainbridge

What would you do if your landlord tried to kick you out - you might go to court saying I've been paying rent and have put down a depost - this would suggest you legally have a tenancy ... wouldn't it?

MBer13

I really appreciate all the comments and opinions here, but I'm looking for actual facts. jbainbridge, yes, I have a tenancy. If it wasn't a joint tenancy I know that in this situation it would purely be a verbal contract (because I've paid my deposit and rent, this is assumed), and as such (although both me and the landlord have various rights) I could leave whenever I want and they are not entitled to chase me for my rent, take any of my deposit, or chase my guarantor.

I suspect it is 'joint and several', is that not what most student lets are? but surely by never signing, seeing, or agreeing to a tenancy agreement, I haven't technically joined that under the same terms? What if they show me the tenancy agreement that everyone else has and I say I don't agree with some of the terms?

bitterandtwisted, I want to come clean and negotiate, I just want to get the facts straight first. I understand they can't make me sign a tenancy agreement now that I have moved in to the property, neither can they evict me, so I have nothing to lose by coming clean and being polite/giving them warning. I am also planning on finding a replacement to take over my tenancy, but I'm just looking for a plan b if I can't find anyone.

I won't be leaving early if it leaves my housemates liable, that's what I'm trying to determine here.

mrginge

MBer13 wrote: »

I really appreciate all the comments and opinions here, but I'm looking for actual facts.

Go see a solicitor then.

Thread closed.

bris

You are actually getting facts, all the posts above are correct you have a tenancy, legal and binding. A signature makes it all nice and neat but your actions, giving a deposit and paying rents is all the proof the LL needs to make his case.


If, which I suspect it is a joint tenancy then the other students will become just as liable as you to make up the shortfall. The LL will get paid whether you run away and default or not. The other students will then see you as the bad guy and can take civil action against you, or maybe even just deal with it their way.

MBer13

bris, thanks for that. I know that by paying rent and a deposit I have technically entered a 'verbal contract', but if it was me on my own renting the place, I know that this doesn't mean that I'd have to conform to anything that might be stated in a tenancy agreement, and as such, could legally leave whenever I want, with my full deposit, and no issues.

What I want to know is how this changes with the joint tenancy. Which, I guess you have just answered, but I didn't know if that was fact.

mrginge, thanks for the constructive help! Haha

jjlandlord

MBer13 wrote: »

but if it was me on my own renting the place, I know that this doesn't mean that I'd have to conform to anything that might be stated in a tenancy agreement, and as such, could legally leave whenever I want, with my full deposit, and no issues.

That's clearly incorrect...

mrginge

MBer13 wrote: »

bris, thanks for that. I know that by paying rent and a deposit I have technically entered a 'verbal contract', but if it was me on my own renting the place, I know that this doesn't mean that I'd have to conform to anything that might be stated in a tenancy agreement, and as such, could legally leave whenever I want, with my full deposit, and no issues.

For someone that only wants to deal in facts I wouldn't rely too heavily on that assumption.