Landlord requesting additional rent after agreeing to end tenancy

G_M

meloko21 wrote: »

I contacted my estate agents last month to ask if I could end the tenancy early. They confirmed and agreed to a "check out date" for last week. .........,

This is the important bit, not what happened on the day the keys were handed back.

What exactly did they say when they 'confirmed & agreed'?

* did they agree to a 'check out' date and / or a tenancy end date?
* did they mention any fees and/or compensation you would have to pay to compensate for ending the tenancy early?
* did they put any conditions on the 'confirmation & agreement' eg paying rent (or compensation equivelant to the rent) for the period between your check out/tenancy end date and a new tenancy being granted?

What written and or verbal statements/agreements were made?

meloko21

@G_M

I received an email over two weeks before my 'check out' date which said:

- "Thank you for letter in which you inform us of your intention to vacate the above property on [day before check out date]"
- "We have arranged for your Check Out to take place on [check out date]"
- "You will not be given access to the property after your Check Out has been completed"
- "If you are not ready to vacate the property at the time of the Check Out and we have to re-attend to carry out your Check Out, you will be charged a fee..."
- "Please ensure that the property is professionally cleaned (etc, etc)"
- "We would like to remind you that your final rent payment should be made in the normal manner (for the start of the month up to the check out date)"
- "You need to contact all your utility service providers and ask them to prepare final accounts. If you have been paying for gas and/or electricity by payment meter, rather than a quarterly demand, then the key or card must be left at the property."
- "Shortly following your departure from the property and in accordance with your tenancy agreement, we will arrange with your landlord for the deposit to be administered as quickly as possible."

The landlord has already agreed to offer the full deposit back. However, as I explained, I'm being asked to pay additional rent for the period between the check out date and the new tenants moving in.

G_M

Well I would print that off, and put it in an envelope with a covering letter stating that the agreement was for rent to be paid up till 'check out date' and therefore no further payment is due.

And request your deposit back in full within 5 working days.

thank them for their assistance in agreeing to the Early Surrender.

edit: I'm tempted to suggest you put a slice of cake in the envelope too, but perhaps my obsession is getting the better of me. Oh (ma) dear(a)!

mrginge

They can whistle for it.

You can't agree terms, complete the contract and then try to impose additional terms.

meloko21

Thanks guys. I will follow-up to confirm the agreement and see what they have to say. Out of interest - how hard can they push? I have an email confirming the LL has agreed to provide the full deposit back, so I'm curious what leverage they will try to use to get the 'additional' rent.

G_M

They can

* claim it off the deposit, unless the LL instructs them not to, or is managing the deposit himself. If the try this, you raise a dispute with the deposi scheme.

* write you threatening/demanding letters. You can ignore them.

* start a court action. You enter a defense enclosing their email etc.

None of the above will result in them getting your payment!

meloko21

@G_M thank you!

nidO

They can't push very hard.

Their email to you is clear, you paid rent up to your checkout date and no longer have access to the property, so they can't charge you rent after that.
For your deposit, you should request its return immediately directly via the scheme with which it is protected.

The LL/agent may then attempt to dispute its return and claim the rent they feel is missing from your deposit, if they do simply provide the protection service with a copy of the email and your checkout report confirming you vacated the property on the checkout date, and state that the "unpaid rent" they're attempting to claim is for a period after this after your tenancy ended, and you should get your whole deposit back.

This is basically your LL/agent's mistake - When agreeing to an early surrender it is generally fairly normal to agree for the tenant cover the rent until the date a new tenant is able to be moved in (as part of the quid pro quo for letting you leave early so the LL isn't out of pocket for you wanting to change your agreement), however this needs to be explicitly agreed, and you retain access to the property for the duration of the period you're paying it for, whether you actually continue to live there or not.
The fact that they didn't get you to agree with this in advance, and took away your access to the property, is their !!!!!!-up.

DandelionPatrol

meloko21 wrote: »

@G_M

I received an email over two weeks before my 'check out' date which said:

- "Thank you for letter in which you inform us of your intention to vacate the above property on [day before check out date]"
- "We have arranged for your Check Out to take place on [check out date]"
- "You will not be given access to the property after your Check Out has been completed"
- "If you are not ready to vacate the property at the time of the Check Out and we have to re-attend to carry out your Check Out, you will be charged a fee..."
- "Please ensure that the property is professionally cleaned (etc, etc)"
- "We would like to remind you that your final rent payment should be made in the normal manner (for the start of the month up to the check out date)"
- "You need to contact all your utility service providers and ask them to prepare final accounts. If you have been paying for gas and/or electricity by payment meter, rather than a quarterly demand, then the key or card must be left at the property."
- "Shortly following your departure from the property and in accordance with your tenancy agreement, we will arrange with your landlord for the deposit to be administered as quickly as possible."

The landlord has already agreed to offer the full deposit back. However, as I explained, I'm being asked to pay additional rent for the period between the check out date and the new tenants moving in.

The highlighted sentence is quite definitive. You owe nothing for the period after your checkout. If a charge was to be made, this email should have specified it.

As to why the LA are trying it on after it is all done and dusted with checkout, I kind of think that if you did pay, the LL would see none of this money.

hign10pines

meloko21 wrote: »

Thanks guys,

The language used when the estate agents confirmed the check out date includes:

"We have arranged for your Check Out to take place on X"
"You will not be given access to the property after your Check Out has been completed"
"If you are not ready to vacate the property at the time of the Check Out and we have to re-attend to carry out your Check Out, you will be charged a fee of..."

The most recent email asking for additional rent includes language like:

"The landlord was happy for you to vacate early as good will however rent needs to be covered until the new tenants start of tenancy to prevent any loss of the landlord."
"You were charged rent until the end date you vacated and awaited confirmation of the new tenancy date which has now been confirmed..."

There has been no mention of "surrendering" the tenancy - which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing for me.

That makes no sense. Are you meant to pay for how ever many weeks/months it takes to get a new tenant? That could also be said for any tenancy ending and a gap between each tenant then.

Doesn't really sound like an early surrender to me.