Advice please - renewing tenancy, buying a new home

SuboJvR

Hi, can anyone please offer some advice.

We are currently renting and near the end of our initial term of 24 months. We have an option to Renew, I asked for a rolling break clause (this was initially suggested by the agent), as we have reserved a new build home, but I have not made the agent nor landlord aware of that yet.

I have factored in the cost of potentially 2 months of double payments i.e. 2 months of rent and moving into the new build, as we will only get maybe 2 weeks notice of our completion date on the new home.

So I was hoping we would be able to continue renting, get completion date, give notice, and essentially have 6 weeks overlap.

The landlord (via the letting agent) has instead proposed a new 12 month term with a 9 month (!) break clause option.

We do get on well with our landlord, and the agents are fine. We are dealing with a renewals negotiator at the letting agency. We are good tenants and have taken good care of the property and will continue to do so.

I am worried about letting either party know that we do intend to be moving out all being well - this would mean us serving notice in probably October/November but we would be happy to accept viewings much earlier so long as the future tenants knew we would only be out by November.

My big worry:
Can the landlord decide not to let us renew if we let him know our plans now?

Should I be speaking to the landlord or the agent about this? I don't know how honest to be. Does anyone have any advice for me - I don't want us to be chucked out in two months... Thank you!!

Guest101

Calm down.


Just do nothing, it automatically becomes a monthly agreement.


- it's literally impossible for you to be chucked out (legally) in 2 months.

SuboJvR

Haha thank you - I needed that.

Why do they go through this back and forth then, is it just for the agency to get more fees?

Guest101

SuboJvR wrote: »

Haha thank you - I needed that.

Why do they go through this back and forth then, is it just for the agency to get more fees?

Could be, or could be that the LL wants you to have a fixed term, in any case, eviction take 3-5 months. - and that's assuming they're actually silly enough to evict a good tenant over this.

Pixie5740

Usually this renewal pish & capers is down to the letting agent wanting to extract money from you. Sometimes it's down to ignorance on the landlord's part believing that you need to have fixed term contract in place.

It takes time and money to evict a tenant through the courts. Is any right minded landlord going to go to the hassle of evicting a paying tenant simply because the tenant would like a periodic tenancy?

See G_M's guide to Ending/Renewing an AST for further information.

theartfullodger

Guest101 wrote: »

Calm down.


Just do nothing, it automatically becomes a monthly agreement.....

Completely agree, 100%!

.....- it's literally impossible for you to be chucked out (legally) in 2 months.

Untrue:

A judge at a possession hearing can order immediate PO (judge discretion "forthwith"). Some s8 notice grounds can be taken to court after 14 days: g14 can be started immediately.. see..
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/content/grounds-for-possession

So it is literally possible to be "chucked out" (can we agree "legally evicted") in 2 months: Rare, I agree, but possible.

e.g. Issue valid s8: Start court action same day or 14 days later, requesting HCEO: Get early court date due to cancellation (rare) or exceptional circumstances, granted immediate PO, HCEO eviction easily within 2 months.

Guest101

theartfullodger wrote: »

Completely agree, 100%!

Untrue:

A judge at a possession hearing can order immediate PO (judge discretion "forthwith"). Some s8 notice grounds can be taken to court after 14 days: g14 can be started immediately.. see..
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/content/grounds-for-possession

So it is literally possible to be "chucked out" (can we agree "legally evicted") in 2 months: Rare, I agree, but possible.

e.g. Issue valid s8: Start court action same day or 14 days later, requesting HCEO: Get early court date due to cancellation (rare) or exceptional circumstances, granted immediate PO, HCEO eviction easily within 2 months.

Apologies - yes I meant using s.21 notice which is ofcourse 2 months.


The OP made no reference to any breaches, in fact they said they had a good relationship so I assumed rent was upto date etc.


So yes it's possible, though extremely rare and in any case, I don't think the OP is in that boat - but happy to have it clarified of course

SuboJvR

Thanks all for your thoughts. I'm going to be brave and speak to the landlord. I'm sure we can come to a mutually agreeable solution - I understand he doesn't just want a month's notice dropped on him, and would happily give him as much warning as we can and help him market etc.

You are all correct as well that we haven't had any breaches and rent is not just paid on time, but early because I am paranoid about how long it may take the bank transfers! :-)

SuboJvR

Hi again all

I spoke to the landlord and he was very understanding, he explained he just doesn't want the property to sit empty and doesn't want to market it over the winter months. He agreed to speak to the agent to discuss just going onto a periodic tenancy with them.

The agent came back to me and offered a 2 month extension to our AST (hence, we sign again, £90 for me and £90 for the landlord to pay) instead, to give the landlord "protection" and to avoid marketing over winter.

I really can't understand the logic here, it seems like they are potentially even putting him in a worse position too. As instead of being where we are now, in the summer, we will delay it to the Autumn. And if we simply stay on, he will then need to serve a Section 21 and then aim to evict us in the middle of winter, right?

Furthermore, if we agree to it, we can simply walk away in October without giving him any warning whatsoever!

The thing that concerns me is that he could just serve a section 21 now, or any time, to get us out in these "precious" summer months instead.

If he needed to evict us would that affect a mortgage application for us?

I really don't think it'll come to that - as said, he was very reasonable over the phone as was I and I explained we would be as helpful as possible on a periodic agreement! I believe the letting agent are just trying to scare him into getting more fees out of us both

Pixie5740

Is your landlord aware that the letting agent works for him and not the other way around? What benefit is it to either you or the landlord to sign this 2 month fixed term? As far as I can see it only benefits the letting agent to the tune of £180.

Just say thanks but no thanks and that you're happy with a periodic tenancy. The letting agent can't prevent it and the landlord can't prevent it. A 2 months fixed term won't give you much more security than you'd have with a periodic tenancy anyway.

What's the landlord's concern with marketing the property in winter? People move home every month of the year. He sounds like the sort of clueless fanny who shouldn't be letting property at all.

SuboJvR

He's inexperienced with it all I think, it's not like he has lots of properties - this is the only one, effectively it's his second home. I think he bought it, lived here, and when he met someone else they moved in together elsewhere.

I really think they are filling his head with ideas about not being able to offer it out easily in Winter. On the very day we viewed and signed up I know for a fact the second viewers would've also offered as they since became our neighbours and told us as much!

The "agent" we are dealing with isn't even the local office, it's their renewals negotiation team in London whom neither of us have ever met.

If I say we are happy with the periodic tenancy - what's to stop the landlord then serving a Section 21 to get us out (other than his own inexperience, I'm not sure he will know about these things!!)

(I doubt he will, as we are good tenants and we may not even go anywhere if the purchase doesn't work out and he'll lose us for good then)