Tenant ending contract early

bambos

We have a tenant living in our rental property. She is a young first time renter and took on a 12 month tenancy, her dad spoke to us and discussed the tenancy and its legalities etc. We explained to him that as she is the sole tenant she is fully responsible for the property and rent etc, she has paid on time apart from last month when we had to ask her three times before she paid.

She has emailed us yesterday and said she's giving notice and leaving two weeks into February (4wks notice) we have emailed her explaining that she is liable for the tenancy that she signed but we are not sure where to go from here. She gave us her deposit which is held with my deposits but when we called them they said they don't give legal advice.

We have not heard back from her yet but have advertised the property and lined up viewings for late next week as we are now panicked that we will be footing the mortgage payment next month and with me between jobs it's hardly ideal.

Any thought?

kinger101

She's liable for 12 months rent if it's a 12 month AST (without break clause), but it doesn't guarantee she'll pay it. Even if you go to court, she may be broke.

I'd tell here you'll advertise the property but you expect her to pay;

(a) all rent up until the new tenancy starts;
(b) all costs associated with advertising etc.

I believe you can claim unpaid rent through the deposit, but not re-adveritizing costs.

G_M

Is there a Break Clause in the tenancy agreement?

If yes, what does it say?
If no, the tenant is liable for 12 months.

You do have a duty to mitigate the cost, so if she does end the tenancy early, you should make efforts to re-let it.

However, she is liable for rent (and other costs eg utilities) in the meantime. You can deduct these from the deposit and/or sue her (assuming she refuses to pay when asked).

You are of course at liberty to accept an 'Early Surrender', at whatever date you and the tenant agree, and you can attach whatever conditions you wish to this. Typically

* your end of tenancy costs
* remarketing costs
* agent fees
* lost rent during void
or indeed a straight £2000 fee if you wish!

She can agree your terms, negotiate, or refuse and continue the tenancy. Her choice.

If she simply returns the key and vacates, do your best to get something in writing. Otherwise the tenancy simply continues (albeit in arrears) and you are unable to re-let. If you did, and she returned, she could claim illegal eviction.

Meantime, contact your Landlord's Association for further advice. You are a member, yes?

Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants

csgohan4

is there a break clause in the contract??? or is it 12 months minimum.


You can try and resolve this amicably, but you may have to pursue this through the courts.


Keep all communication via recorded mail

Wyndham

What date did the tenancy start?

bambos

Thanks for all of the replies. There is no break clause. We have an email stating that she is ending the tenancy four weeks from 17th Jan. I have printed it off and filed it for reference.

bambos

Wyndham wrote: »

What date did the tenancy start?

17th October 2016

bambos

csgohan4 wrote: »

is there a break clause in the contract??? or is it 12 months minimum.


You can try and resolve this amicably, but you may have to pursue this through the courts.


Keep all communication via recorded mail

12 months minimum.

Miss_Samantha

G_M wrote: »

You do have a duty to mitigate the cost, so if she does end the tenancy early, you should make efforts to re-let it.

A tenant cannot unilaterally end a fixed term tenancy unless there is a break clause allowing it.
As long as the tenancy continues the landlord does not have anything to mitigate, and if the tenant ends the tenancy through a break clause there isn't anything to mitigate either.

Guest101

G_M wrote: »

Is there a Break Clause in the tenancy agreement?

If yes, what does it say?
If no, the tenant is liable for 12 months.

You do have a duty to mitigate the cost, so if she does end the tenancy early, you should make efforts to re-let it.

However, she is liable for rent (and other costs eg utilities) in the meantime. You can deduct these from the deposit and/or sue her (assuming she refuses to pay when asked).

You are of course at liberty to accept an 'Early Surrender', at whatever date you and the tenant agree, and you can attach whatever conditions you wish to this. Typically

* your end of tenancy costs
* remarketing costs
* agent fees
* lost rent during void
or indeed a straight £2000 fee if you wish!

She can agree your terms, negotiate, or refuse and continue the tenancy. Her choice.

If she simply returns the key and vacates, do your best to get something in writing. Otherwise the tenancy simply continues (albeit in arrears) and you are unable to re-let. If you did, and she returned, she could claim illegal eviction.

Meantime, contact your Landlord's Association for further advice. You are a member, yes?

Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants

Could be wrong but as rent is debt I don't believe the op needs to mitigate

G_M

Miss_Samantha wrote: »

A tenant cannot unilaterally end a fixed term tenancy unless there is a break clause allowing it.
As long as the tenancy continues the landlord does not have anything to mitigate, and if the tenant ends the tenancy through a break clause there isn't anything to mitigate either.

True. Hence my caveat later about re-letting if the tenancy was not properly ended.

But I agree my post confused those issues.