50 week tenancy

teecee90

Hi

My son is at University of Surrey and currently rents a property with 3 fellow students on a 50 week tenancy. The tenancy comes to an end on 15th August 2016 and he has already handed the keys back.

Although the tenancy ends mid-month the landlord says that they have to pay a full months rent for August as per the terms of the tenancy agreement. Is this correct or should they only be paying for a part month?

This is the rent clause in the agreement:

4. Rent
4.1 £1,950.00 (One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty Pounds) for each month of the
Tenancy payable in advance. The first payment shall be made on the 1st September
2015. Thereafter, payments shall be made on the 1st day of each month.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

G_M

Please quote the exact wording of the Term and the Start date.

It seems strange that the Term is specified in weeks but the rent is payable monthly.

teecee90

This is the term clause:

3. Term
3.1. The Tenancy will be for a Term of 50 Weeks from and including 1st September 2015 to
and including 15th August 2016.

theartfullodger

Landlord is wrong. Arguably nothing to be paid for any of August.

The rent requirement says for each month, and tenant had complied with that requirement of the contract. Stupid landlord

Marvel1

I would refer the tenancy agreement date to the landlord and show it's the 15/08/16 and not 31/08/16.

teecee90

We've spoken to the landlord's agent (Haart) and they are adamant that we have to pay a full month's rent for August on the basis that the rent is calculated monthly. The rent is obviously due today and we don't want to be in breach of the agreement or liable for penalties.....so question is whether we should pay the full amount and try to request a partial refund or just pay half and resist any attempt to try to recover the rest. University accommodation team have said they will review the agreement and advise us, but that will obviously take time.

hazyjo

From what you wrote, it's weekly, not monthly.


This might make me wobble slightly "4.1 £1,950.00 (One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty Pounds) for each month of the
Tenancy payable in advance." - I suppose they could say that it was divided into months and that 'for each month of the...' might mean the whole month. But then how can the tenancy be for 50 weeks? They might as well say 'by months only, so even if you want to leave halfway through, you're paying the month'.


Hmmm. Terrible wording and service.


I would be arguing until I was blue in the face and driving myself insane, but maybe you've reached that point already...


Jx

david1951

"£1,950.00 (One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty Pounds) for each month"


1st to 15th August isn't a month, it's 15 days. So there is an argument that you don't owe for August as you aren't staying the whole month.


Common sense would say that you pay 15 days pro-rata and leave it at that.

teecee90

University accommodation team has replied already (excellent service) and agrees that we should only be paying for 15 days in August.... although the property was privately rented, not through the University, so it is obviously only advice. They have suggested that we just pay £961.65 (1950x12/365x15) as we may have trouble recovering any overpaid rent from the landlord. Doesn't bode well for getting our deposit back though...

G_M

Pro-rata the rent to pay 15 days out of the 31 in August. ie calculate the daily rate and multiply by 15.

1950/31 = £62.90 per day x 15 days = £943.54

Pay that.

If/when the agent complains, write a letter, pointing out that the tenancy agreement clearly states that the tenancy ends on 15th August, and therefore rent cannot be charged beyond that date.

Then ignore any further complaints.

On 15th, write another letter requesting return of deposit.

If/when the agent makes deductions from the deposit for rent arrears, raise a dispute with the deposit company.

teecee90

I've just spoken to the Landlord and he claims that the rent is payable weekly and that the monthly rent is calculated by multiplying the weekly rent by 50 and dividing by 12. So presumably 468x50/12 = 1950. If that is the case then surely the rent agreement should specify a weekly rent not a monthly rent. He said the agreement was written by Haart and he has been using it for 8 years with no problem and this is the first time anyone has questioned it. This is getting very confusing.