Landlord/Agent wont return rent.

dc240969

My wife rented a flat and paid 6 months upfront. The stipulations on the contract said she had to give 2 months notice that she was going to leave the property. The six month lease was up on the 7th of August. She gave the 2 months notice on the 7th of May, and moved out on the 4th of July. She is still awaiting her deposit, which is held by a third party. The letting agent says she wont get the last month rent back, 7th July - 7th August as he cant ask the flat owner for it and he has the money. She has been to CAB and they told her to write to the agent and ask for it back initially and give him 14 days to reply. Then go back and see them with a view to complaining to the ombudsman, who the agent is a member of. My question is, can he refuse to return the last months rent?
In addition to this the flat had new tenants in before the end of my wifes lease and as my wife gave 2 months notice and left on the 4th of July, the landlord is holding her liable for council tax even after she returned the keys. A few parties that have been approached says hes at it.

stator

Read the terms of the tenancy, usually it's 6 months minimum and the 2 months notice would apply after that expires.
If the tenancy is not six months minimum then she should get the last month back.

Regarding the council tax, she is liable until the tenancy ended. So if the tenancy ended on 7th July that's when she stops. But if the tenancy was 6 months minimum then it ends on 7th August. If someone else moved in before then, then obviously the tenancy ended and the new tenants become liable when they moved in.

dc240969

The singed rental agreement, short assured tenancy, mentions nothing about minimum, only starting and end dates. In fact it mentions nothing about giving or receiving 2 months notice to quit or being asked to leave. This is covered in an unsigned tenant guide.

00ec25

dc240969 wrote: »

The singed rental agreement, short assured tenancy, mentions nothing about minimum, only starting and end dates. In fact it mentions nothing about giving or receiving 2 months notice to quit or being asked to leave. This is covered in an unsigned tenant guide.

I take it you do not understand anything about tenancy agreements?

your comment above does not provide sufficient answer for anyone on here to be sure what is going on

you state that the "6 month lease was up on 7th August"
if the tenancy agreement was for a period between 8th Feb - 7th Aug (ie 6 months) then that was a fixed term tenancy

if your wife left before 7th Aug then she could not leave "early" unless the LL agreed for her to go. Did she get the LL's agreement in writing?

you now say that the information regarding "2 months notice" was not an actual clause within the tenancy agreement. I am not surprised if the tenancy was simply a 6 month fixed term, it would not have a way to end it early, why should it given the LL cannot legally end it himself before 6 months are up.

so the fact your wife left in July means she unilaterally tried to end the tenancy, only if the LL agreed to her going early would there be a "mutual surrender". You state that there are new tenants already in the property, so it seems the LL has accepted her departure, but from what exact date that acceptance was given is unclear.

your wife remains liable for rent until the date the LL agrees to "early" (mutual) surrender of a 6 month fixed term tenancy. nothing you have said so far establishes when that happened

yes she is entitled to her deposit back, but if she is liable for rent after 7th July then that will be deducted from her deposit.

read GM's guide to tenancies and then post back here when you better understand the nature of her tenancy
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67759913&postcount=4

saajan_12

dc240969 wrote: »

The stipulations on the contract said she had to give 2 months notice that she was going to leave the property. The six month lease was up on the 7th of August.

Please quote the terms for this notice. Frequently an AST has a minimum 6 month (or longer) term and notice can't expire before this unless there is a break clause. In that case, your wife's notice would have been redundant and rent was owed from the until the end of the lease, 7th Aug or when the LL took posession and allowed in new tenants, whichever was earlier.

G_M

As others have said, you have no fully explained the tenancy terms.

However from what you say it was a 6 months contract ending on 7th august. Therefore, assuming
1) this is in England/Wales, and
2) there is no 'Break Clause' in the contract

then the tenancy ends on 7th august. It can only end earlier if (and only if) the landlord agreed. Any agreement should be in writing to avoid misunderstanding).

The 2months notice may have been intended to apply to the 7th August (ie to inform the LL whether or not the tenant wished to stay longer or leave), or may have applied to a subsequent periodic tenancy (if the tenant stayed beyond 7th August).

So it is likely that rent, council tax, and utility bills must be paid till 7th August.

See also

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

stator

G_M wrote: »

As others have said, you have no fully explained the tenancy terms.

However from what you say it was a 6 months contract ending on 7th august. Therefore, assuming
1) this is in England/Wales, and
2) there is no 'Break Clause' in the contract

then the tenancy ends on 7th august. It can only end earlier if (and only if) the landlord agreed. Any agreement should be in writing to avoid misunderstanding).

The 2months notice may have been intended to apply to the 7th August (ie to inform the LL whether or not the tenant wished to stay longer or leave), or may have applied to a subsequent periodic tenancy (if the tenant stayed beyond 7th August).

So it is likely that rent, council tax, and utility bills must be paid till 7th August.

See also

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

But if new tenants have moved in before 7th August they will be liable for the council tax and other utility bills.

FBaby

if your wife left before 7th Aug then she could not leave "early" unless the LL agreed for her to go. Did she get the LL's agreement in writing?

Just to add this is not about the LL saying that it was ok for her to leave the property early, but agreed to a surrender to the ast. It is very rare that LL agree to such surrender without conditions, usually that another tenant is found before the end of the fixed term.

It is even rarer on a 6 months fixed contract.