Leaving property before notice to quit expires

mojominder

Hi all - I'm sure this question has been raised many times before, but here goes anyways...

After five years of the usual agency nonsense of slow responses, regular rent rises and renewal fees, poor maintenance etc etc, my landlord has decided to sell up and I was given 2 months written notice to quit which expires on January 29th. Luckily for me, I found a super new place to live almost immediately, and I vacated the old place on New Year's Eve.

I emailed the agency before xmas that I would be gone by December 31st and that, because of the upfront costs of the new tenancy, I would be unable to pay any rent for January. I also told them that I would be reluctant to accept any deductions from my deposit because (a) I have looked after the property well, always paid my rent on time and no issues have ever been raised during the frequent inspections and (b) given that the property is in urgent need of a complete refit, the landlord is unlikely to make any cosmetic improvements in order to sell.

The agency has acknowledged my email, but they have not yet made any other comment. The deposit is held in a bona fide DPS scheme.

I'm interested to know where I stand, both legally and pragmatically, as regards the £800 rent for January and the return of the £1000 deposit.

Cheers m'dears, and a Happy New Year.

AnotherJoe

Were you joking when you said that "because of the upfront costs of the new tenancy, I would be unable to pay any rent for January"

How woudl that work as an excuse for, well, just about anything?

"because of the upfront costs of the new tenancy, I would be unable to pay any tax in January"
"because of the upfront costs of the new tenancy, I would be unable to pay the gas bill for January"


Its due, you are contracted to pay it, your difficulties paying are irreelvant.

as to the rest
I also told them that I would be reluctant to accept any deductions from my deposit because I have looked after the property well, always paid my rent on time (LOL apart from the entire final month you didnt pay you mean?) and no issues have ever been raised during the frequent inspections

That doesn't warrant no deductions, all that matters is the checkout condition.

I think you can kiss £800 of your £1000 deposit goodbye.

Pixie5740

Is this in England or Wales? If so then you weren't issued a notice to quit. You were most likely issued a Section 21 which doesn't actually end the tenancy, that can only be done by you (the tenant) serving notice or a court. The Section 21 is notice that your landlord might go to court to get an eviction order, that's all.

When (exact date please) did you last sign a tenancy agreement and how long was it for? 6 months, 12?

groovy_chick

I'm sorry, but I would say you don't have a snowball's chance in h3ll!

I was privately renting and when the Landlord found a buyer he gave me 2 months notice. The Estate Agent asked me to move out before the end of my notice period to allow the buyers to be in before the new school term. However, after I had left they found that completion took 3 weeks longer than expected. The Estate Agent lied and said I had moved out of my own accord and I was forced to pay the last 3 weeks rent right up to the day of completion - I was paying for my new place as well. I took my case to the Ombudsman arguing that I only did it on the request of the Estate Agents but, because I had nothing in writing from them, the Ombudsman only awarded me a nominal £100 - I was out of pocket by nearly £1,000.

I wish you had asked before you moved out

G_M

mojominder wrote: »

After five years [STRIKE]of the usual agency nonsense of slow responses, regular rent rises and renewal fees, poor maintenance etc etc[/STRIKE], my landlord has decided to sell up and I was given 2 months written notice to quit which expires on January 29th.
OK. So far so good, assuming you are not in a fixed term

Luckily for me, I found a super new place to live almost immediately, and I vacated the old place on New Year's Eve.
'Vacating' does not end the tenancy.

I emailed the agency before xmas that I would be gone by December 31st
So you gave, what? 9 days notice? :rotfl:

and that, because of the upfront costs of the new tenancy, I would be unable to pay any rent for January.
Your christmas expenses, car insurance renewal, new tenancy costs, and any other personal expenses are all irrelevant. You failed to give proper notice to end your tenancy so you have a contractual obligation to pay your rent.

I also told them that I would be reluctant to accept any deductions from my deposit because (a) I have looked after the property well, always paid my rent on time and no issues have ever been raised during the frequent inspections and (b) given that the property is in urgent need of a complete refit, the landlord is unlikely to make any cosmetic improvements in order to sell.
Well, that email is going to endear you to the LL in advance of him checking the property! Way to go on diplomacy!

The property needing a refit is irrelevant in relation to damage you may or may not have caused.

The agency has acknowledged my email, but they have not yet made any other comment. The deposit is held in a bona fide DPS scheme.
They made the proper response ie "yes we have received your email but we are not going to comment on it as it is full of ****".

I'm interested to know where I stand, both legally and pragmatically, as regards the £800 rent for January and the return of the £1000 deposit.

Cheers m'dears, and a Happy New Year.

1) You owe the rent as you failed to give notice.

2) the rent can be taken from your deposit.

3) your comments regarding the property condition are irrelevant. The LL/agent will inspect, and if the property is not in the same condition, less fair wear and tear, as it was when you moved in, deductions can be made.

4) if the total of deductions + rent arrears exceed the deposit, the LL can demand the extra. If you fail to pay it, he can take you to court.

5) the sensible procedure would have been to discuss all this with the LL/agent in advance, and try to reach mutually agreed date to end the tenancy. The LL may well have agreed. But after an email like that, he's more likely to pursue you for everything you owe!

6) Compare:

a) Hi Mr LL. Any chance you could pop round for tea and a chat? I'll bake a cake. Thing is, I understand you are selling and need to end the tenancy. Well, I've found a new place, so I'm happy to leave. My problem is I need to take up the new place at start of Jan. Any chance we can end the tenancy early on, say, 31st December? More cake? Help yourself."

b) To: landlord. From: Tenant.
I know I owe rent but I'm not going to pay it.
I know you haven't yet checked out the property, but I'm not going to agree to deposit deductions whatever you find.
So there.

Now which option is the LL going to respond most favourably to I wonder........?

mojominder

Thanks Pixie and GroovyChick for your replies. The notice to quit was given and accepted in a spirit of co-operation - the problems with the bathroom and kitchen had been escalating over the summer and on November 29th the agency phoned me to say that the landlord had decided to sell up rather than do the necessary renovations. My current 6-month tenancy agreement expires on 31st January.

I found a new place within days, and phoned the agency to ask for written notice to quit. They sent me all the section 21 stuff with a covering letter, backdated to 29th November, stating that they expected me to be gone by 29th January. They took photos and the house appeared on their 'for sale' list at the same time.

I am well aware that I am probably legally liable for January's rent on the old place, but I am quite good at haggling and I am fairly confident that I can negotiate some kind of compromise.

My main concern is the deposit - am I right in thinking that the landlord/agency cannot get the funds released to them without my agreement? The property was in a poor state when I took it on, and it has deteriorated further - any buyer will have to do a complete renovation job. I'm hoping that the agency will release the full deposit without any quibble.

Am I right in thinking that the agency will not be able to withhold the deposit against the unpaid rent?

G_M

mojominder wrote: »

Thanks Pixie and GroovyChick for your replies. The notice to quit was given and accepted in a spirit of co-operation - the problems with the bathroom and kitchen had been escalating over the summer and on November 29th the agency phoned me to say that the landlord had decided to sell up rather than do the necessary renovations. My current 6-month tenancy agreement expires on 31st January.

I found a new place within days, and phoned the agency to ask for written notice to quit. They sent me all the section 21 stuff with a covering letter, backdated to 29th November, stating that they expected me to be gone by 29th January. They took photos and the house appeared on their 'for sale' list at the same time.

I am well aware that I am probably legally liable for January's rent on the old place, but I am quite good at haggling and I am fairly confident that I can negotiate some kind of compromise.

My main concern is the deposit - am I right in thinking that the landlord/agency cannot get the funds released to them without my agreement? The property was in a poor state when I took it on, and it has deteriorated further - any buyer will have to do a complete renovation job. I'm hoping that the agency will release the full deposit without any quibble.

Am I right in thinking that the agency will not be able to withhold the deposit against the unpaid rent?

Good grief!

This is a completely different sequence of events to what you described in your first post.

You asked "where I stand, both legally and pragmatically" but have now presented us with two very different stories.

:wall:

Marvel1

You are due to pay for January, so the good thing is you are paid up until 29/01/17 - I hope you have not handed in the keys, as this is a good opportunity to fully clean during the last few days and take photos/video with timestamp, better to clean when it's empty to ensure full return of deposit.

EDIT: I just read your new post, they expect you to be gone by 29/01/17 but your fixed term ends 31/01/17!

sparky130a

mojominder wrote: »

Thanks Pixie and GroovyChick for your replies. The notice to quit was given and accepted in a spirit of co-operation - the problems with the bathroom and kitchen had been escalating over the summer and on November 29th the agency phoned me to say that the landlord had decided to sell up rather than do the necessary renovations. My current 6-month tenancy agreement expires on 31st January.

I found a new place within days, and phoned the agency to ask for written notice to quit. They sent me all the section 21 stuff with a covering letter, backdated to 29th November, stating that they expected me to be gone by 29th January. They took photos and the house appeared on their 'for sale' list at the same time.

I am well aware that I am probably legally liable for January's rent on the old place, but I am quite good at haggling and I am fairly confident that I can negotiate some kind of compromise.

My main concern is the deposit - am I right in thinking that the landlord/agency cannot get the funds released to them without my agreement? The property was in a poor state when I took it on, and it has deteriorated further - any buyer will have to do a complete renovation job. I'm hoping that the agency will release the full deposit without any quibble.

Am I right in thinking that the agency will not be able to withhold the deposit against the unpaid rent?

You're having a laugh right?

AnotherJoe

mojominder wrote: »

Thanks Pixie and GroovyChick for your replies. The notice to quit was given and accepted in a spirit of co-operation - the problems with the bathroom and kitchen had been escalating over the summer and on November 29th the agency phoned me to say that the landlord had decided to sell up rather than do the necessary renovations. My current 6-month tenancy agreement expires on 31st January.

I found a new place within days, and phoned the agency to ask for written notice to quit. They sent me all the section 21 stuff with a covering letter, backdated to 29th November, stating that they expected me to be gone by 29th January. They took photos and the house appeared on their 'for sale' list at the same time.

I am well aware that I am probably legally liable for January's rent on the old place, but I am quite good at haggling and I am fairly confident that I can negotiate some kind of compromise.

My main concern is the deposit - am I right in thinking that the landlord/agency cannot get the funds released to them without my agreement? The property was in a poor state when I took it on, and it has deteriorated further - any buyer will have to do a complete renovation job. I'm hoping that the agency will release the full deposit without any quibble.

Am I right in thinking that the agency will not be able to withhold the deposit against the unpaid rent?

Are you a different poster to the one who started this thread? Or if the same one, will your next post have a third entirely different sequence of events ? I'm out

FBaby

am I right in thinking that the landlord/agency cannot get the funds released to them without my agreement?

Indeed, but they will then escalate to arbitration and you will have no leg to stand on to defend their request to deduct on-paid rent from the deposit, so you will just delay the process.

Your only chance is if there is a clause in your contract to say that deposit can't be used for the purporse of unpaid rent, but it is more likely to say the opposite, ie. that it CAN be used for that purpose, making your case even weaker.