tenancy woes :(

Comms69

fly53 wrote: »

Not really. Im just serving my break clause which lasts untill 24th april.

Though now the agent is saying my possesion started on signing the tenancy ( the 18th aug) not when i moved in. Are thry taking the mick or what?

Tenancy starts on the day you get possession (for arguments sake the keys in your hand)

fly53

Well i signed on the 18th aug and got the keys on that day but my 12 month tenancy states my term is 25th aug 2017 to 24th aug 2018

00ec25

fly53 wrote: »

Well i signed on the 18th aug and got the keys on that day but my 12 month tenancy states my term is 25th aug 2017 to 24th aug 2018

ok , I am not a lawyer but contract law is never as simple as that

for a contract to exist there must be an exchange of consideration, the date a contract is signed is neither consideration nor an exchange (after all a contract can be verbal). In the context of housing, consideration can comprise:

a) the LL gives you the keys to the property and you are therefore physically able to move in ("take possession")

in return

b) you pay rent to the LL. The amount you pay is tied into the dates that you possess the property since that is how the contract is worded (eg: £x rent per month).

so in your case you have paid rent presumably based on a start date of 25th Aug. Therefore the contract commenced on 25th Aug when the exchange was completed. You do not have a contract for the period 18th Aug - 24th Aug so that earlier date is irrelevant

as ever do not expect letting agents to know anything about tenancy law beyond the ability to use the words "fee due"

fly53

well i spoke to them (again) this time to someone else and she's saying also, that it's a 12 month tenancy with an 8 month break clause with two months notice post.

ermm....... ok

well im just going to say im leaving on the 24th april. im getting sick of this nonsense already.
i can't imagine a judge would think much of it either, should it come to that

Comms69

fly53 wrote: »

well i spoke to them (again) this time to someone else and she's saying also, that it's a 12 month tenancy with an 8 month break clause with two months notice post.

ermm....... ok

well im just going to say im leaving on the 24th april. im getting sick of this nonsense already.
i can't imagine a judge would think much of it either, should it come to that

Judges deal with legal arguments - the key point is I doubt they'd go to court over it

fly53

yeah im just going to hand in keys before 24th april and im done

thanks

nyermen

Judges deal with legal arguments - the key point is I doubt they'd go to court over it

Excuse my Naivity, but would the concept of "Contra proferentem" (where ambiguity in a contract favours the person who didn't draw it up) help here at all? Just curious.

Peter.

G_M

00ec25 wrote: »

for a contract to exist there must be an exchange of consideration, the date a contract is signed is neither consideration nor an exchange (after all a contract can be verbal). In the context of housing, consideration can comprise:

a) the LL gives you the keys to the property and you are therefore physically able to move in ("take possession")

in return

b) you pay rent to the LL. The amount you pay is tied into the dates that you possess the property since that is how the contract is worded (eg: £x rent per month).

Sorry 00ec25 - not so.

The contract can be formed before the exchange takes place. The point about 'consideration' is that the contract must involve agreement of an exchange (eg property for rent), but the contract can (does) become binding before those things happen. The contract must contain an agreement that those things will happen.

When acccess is granted (eg keys) then the tenancy is created. But if that happens on a later date that the date specified in the contract, then there will have been a breach of contract

G_M

Comms69 wrote: »

Tenancy starts on the day you get possession (for arguments sake the keys in your hand)

Not necessarily.

1) Contract might specify the tenancy will start on Sunday. Landlord/agent not availble on Sunday so gives keys to tenant the preceding Friday for convenience, on the understanding that as per the contract, the tenant will not move in till Sunday.

2) More ambiguously, the LL might grant the ... er... 'occupier'... a licence to move in on the Friday (either just their belongings and/or themselves), with the tenancy, and obligation to start paying rent, starting on the Sunday as per the contract

The law is often more complex than at first sight.

Clearly in the above examples, much depends on the intentions of the two parties.

fly53

ok thanks.

well my intention is to envoke my clause before the 24th feb in a letter saying im out of here by the 24th april thus ending my tenancy

ide doubt very much theyd be daft enough to chase me to court over such a poorly worded clause as this one.

thanks