terminating a tenancy early

becca01

the problem has now been resolved

barnaby-bear

becca01 wrote: »

Hi please can some one help me, at present i am in private rented accomindation, but am having to leave the property 2 months before the tenancy runs out due to several factors that the property and area is unsuitable for my family, how can i not pay the land lord 2 months rent when i am no longer living in the propety and she has sold the property anyway. i told the land lord we were moving out 2 months ago, but she said she is not putting up for renting again as she has a cash buyer for the property.

You are liable for the rent and contract. You entered a legally binding contract for the tenancy surely you saw the house and area so claiming unsuitable holds no water. Look on the bright side you are legally obliged to pay the rent but landlady legally obliged to honour your tenancy and she can't kick you out on a whim just like you can't decide you don't want to pay on a whim....

becca01

the property was empty when we veiwed it, it was the only property availble at the time, our house was reprossed and the RATS were not about when we veiwed the property, and we were not warned that the river may flood and we may have to put up with RATS joining us in the property

pcwilkins

becca01 wrote: »

Hi please can some one help me, at present i am in private rented accomindation, but am having to leave the property 2 months before the tenancy runs out due to several factors that the property and area is unsuitable for my family

Perhaps you should have thought of that before you moved in?

how can i not pay the land lord 2 months rent when i am no longer living in the propety and she has sold the property anyway.

If you sign a contract to say that you will stay for 6 months, you have to pay the rent for the six months unless the property becomes unfit for habitation. You can't just change your mind because you decide you don't like the area. How would you like it if a landlord decided to throw you out just because he/she didn't like you?

i told the land lord we were moving out 2 months ago, but she said she is not putting up for renting again as she has a cash buyer for the property.

That's irrelevant. You are still liable for the 6 month's rent.

Having said that the LL is obliged to try and fill the property and if she does she will not be able to charge you the rent. But if she's planning on selling in two months she will have a job to find a tenant who will move in just for two months.

the property was empty when we veiwed it,

Yes, but presumably it was still in the same area?

it was the only property availble at the time,

I find that very hard to believe.

our house was reprossed and the RATS were not about when we veiwed the property, and we were not warned that the river may flood and we may have to put up with RATS joining us in the property

If you have problems with rats you can call out the council and they will advise. How about putting down some traps? If the problem is too bad you may be able to argue that the property is unfit for habitation but just because you have a rat problem doesn't mean you can leave.

Peter

becca01

WOW! Pete, thats rather harsh. I guess you don't support my needs, due to the fact i haven't gone into to much detail about the situation, but hay ho i'll just have to do my best and fight this one out, will keep you posted, have sent a letter to the agency fingers crossed with the evidence i have given them there my be a result.

olly300

becca01 wrote: »

WOW! Pete, thats rather harsh. I guess you don't support my needs, due to the fact i haven't gone into to much detail about the situation, but hay ho i'll just have to do my best and fight this one out, will keep you posted, have sent a letter to the agency fingers crossed with the evidence i have given them there my be a result.

I suggest you contact shelter on 0808 800 4444 and see what they say to your story.

Peter is not being harsh.

He is telling you how it will be viewed from a legal stand point.

You cannot simply break a contract without good reason, and the onus is on you to prove the reason is good enough.

The fact that the river may flood is not relevant. The property is still habitable until the flood water goes into it and destroys some of it.

The fact that there are rats near by is not relevant. Unless the rats are actually entering the property, you have made complaints to the council and made complaints to the agency then you cannot argue the property is not habitable.

Agencies normally have lawyers. Both agencies and their lawyers can be extremely nasty about people who don't pay rent.

Don't be surprised if you get completely credit blacklisted and find it extremely hard to get anyone to rent another property to you.

Lavendyr

Agreed, there is nothing harsh in what Pete has said - it's just the truth. You have signed a contract for 6 months - this means you agree to stick to its conditions for 6 months.

If you're concerned about its safety and habitability, get someone from Environmental Health to look at it. If they declare it as unfit for habitation, your LL will have to find you alternative accommodation. But given what you've said I'd be very surprised if it actually was found to be uninhabitable.

barnaby-bear

becca01 wrote: »

the property was empty when we veiwed it, it was the only property availble at the time, our house was reprossed and the RATS were not about when we veiwed the property, and we were not warned that the river may flood and we may have to put up with RATS joining us in the property

You chose to enter a contract that gave you tenure rights and in return you have a legal and moral obligation to honour the contract and responsibility to pay the rent. Most LLs won't touch defaulters (repossession mentioned above) and this one probably won't again now.

There were no rats before you moved in but since living there have you taken reasonable steps to stop them moving in, notified the agent and landlady in writing of the problem? A nasty agent/LL will argue you attracted the rats by failing to dispose of food/secure property.

pcwilkins

becca01 wrote: »

WOW! Pete, thats rather harsh. I guess you don't support my needs, due to the fact i haven't gone into to much detail about the situation, but hay ho i'll just have to do my best and fight this one out, will keep you posted, have sent a letter to the agency fingers crossed with the evidence i have given them there my be a result.

Sorry Becca, I didn't mean to be harsh at all, just realistic. Perhaps there is something you are not telling us, but based on what you have said there is no way that you can realistically expect the LL to "let you off" two month's rent.

Hope you manage to work something out,

Peter

becca01

hi Pete, Thanks for your reply i guess i over reacted, there is a lot more bother that i had to deal with, but luckly my landlord once given the details, agreed it was not my fault, that we had to leave the property early, believe me we didn't encourage the rats we did all we could to de-ture them. Thanks for your advice but like i said it's now sorted. thankfully Landlord from HELL Really, PS my name is Vicky Becca01 was a decoy Cheers Chat soon