Urgent Advice RE:Tenancy/Notice To Quit/Deposit

pippamannequin

Hi, Please help if you can.

I have rented a property with my husband for over 3 years on a yearly contract.

It was Due for renewal at the end (26th) May.

I rent through an agency.

My landlady passed away at the beginning of May and the agency contacted me to say the contract wouldnt be renewed I would go onto a periodical tenancy until the house was sold by the people who inherited it.

On the 26th July I received notice to quit by 26th September.

Then Hubby and I have split. I informed the agency of this at the end of August and asked them to remove him from the tenancy/notice to quit which they wouldnt.

I have really struggled to find a property to rent but finally found a new house for me and the children in the middle of september and with that I went along to the agency, paid one months rent and informed them that I would be out by 26th October, probably slightly before but definately by 26th and this was the soonest after the notice i could be out.

On Saturday I rang the agency to ask when they would be doing the inventory check etc, and they said theyd get back to me. They rang me back later and said 26th November.
I explained I was leaving by 26th October.
They said as I had given notice on Saturday,(this saturday!!!) that means it's one month from that date plus because my rent is due on the 27th then I am liable for the rent up to 27th of November :mad: :mad:

I explained that Id visited their office IN PERSON paid my rent IN CASH for which I have a receipt and Id given my notice on that day in person to the person i paid the rent to and confirmed it with her!

The Agency said that she no longer works for them so they cant check, so I tried to explain, why, would I pay cash and in person when previously it had been a direct debit unless I was purposely making a point of visiting the office to be SURE my notice was accepted with my final months rent.

Im really going through a bad time at the moment and this is just a nightmare, I was desperately relying on the return of my deposit but now i know i wont get it back as theyl just keep it for the rent theyre saying i need to pay, plus i expect them to be awkward now and add even more to that.

Surely they cant do this to me? Isnt there something that is wrong given that I was under notice to leave anyway?
Please help!

sooz

If your rent payment date is the 27th, why were you paying in cash to the agency on 13th? For which period were you paying? Were you paying late for Sept to Oct, or paying early for Oct to November?

edit - just re-read that you paid sept to oct rent on or before 27th sept in cash in person. Did you get anything in writing from the person about the notice you gave?

You were given written notice to quit by 26th September. Did you get anything in writing that you could stay on longer?

pippamannequin

Rent was always paid by direct debit in advance it last went out of the bank on 24th August - so had paid up to the eviction date of 26th September.

Middle of September (just checked receipt dated 12th September) was the date i went into the office and said I will be leaving by the 26th of October as I cant be out before. I paid the rent early in cash on the 12th for the period 27th September until 26th October

pippamannequin

No nothing given to me in writing to confirm my notice and nothing in writing to confirm i could stay longer

sooz

Write to the agency, and copy it to the heirs if you have an address for them/or the solicitor handling the estate.

(email to the agency will do, as royal mail so awful at the moment)

Tell them when you got notice from them (july) and what date you had to leave by (sept)

Tell them on what date you cancelled your DD to them

Tell them on what day you came in to pay final month's rent in cash, who you spoke to, who you gave your one month's notice to, and enclose a copy of your receipt.

Tell them that you will be leaving on 26th Oct, and handing your keys back to them, and that you look forward to receiving your full deposit back promptly. Tell them you want to be there for the outgoing inspection, and suggest a date...26th Oct.

Did you have a signed inventory?

And check your last AST - is there a clause that says how the deposit will be dealt with? Does it say unpaid rent may be taken from the deposit?

pippamannequin

Thankyou, Ive got a copy of the Inventory and the house was a complete mess when we moved in we have redecorated and put new carpets in, we even put a new fireplace in. The house in 10 times better condition now than we we first came here.

Ive searched high and low for the original tenancy agreement, we only got the one when we first moved in and i just cant find it anywhere, when it came to renewal, they just asked for a fee to be paid and sent a confirmation letter with the dates the tenancy ran to.

I will do all you have sugested above today, many thanks.

Notlob

I can't see what the problem is.

The agent served you a section 21, I am assuming it is an AST, to terminate the tenancy on the 26thSept. The fact that you stayed on after that date is neither here or there. As soon as you vacate and hand back the keys after 26th September, that’s when you pay up to. So the inventory needs to take place shortly after you leave.

Notlob

pippamannequin

Notlob wrote: »

I can't see what the problem is.

The agent served you a section 21, I am assuming it is an AST, to terminate the tenancy on the 26thSept. The fact that you stayed on after that date is neither here or there. As soon as you vacate and hand back the keys after 26th September, that’s when you pay up to. So the inventory needs to take place shortly after you leave.

Notlob

This is reassuring, as this is what I was led to believe was the case, how on earth they can expect me to pay rent up until the end of november when they wanted me out for the house to sit here empty until it sells is beyond me.
I wrote to them today exactly this and stating as suggested above by sooz, so now i guess its a case of wait and see. Thanks for your advice.

pippamannequin

Forgot to say yes it was an AST.

Gorgeous_George

Nothing to add - just wanted to agree with Notlob (that's Bolton backwards). They served you notice to quit by 26th September and you are doing so as soon as possible. They could go to court to get you out but it sounds like they won't be doing that.

Make sure you get what is due to you.

GG

pippamannequin

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

Nothing to add - just wanted to agree with Notlob (that's Bolton backwards). They served you notice to quit by 26th September and you are doing so as soon as possible. They could go to court to get you out but it sounds like they won't be doing that.

Make sure you get what is due to you.

GG

Thankyou
Im going through quite a lot at the moment and this was just something else i really didnt need, its been hard enough with the notice, hell with hubby and me splitting and 2 kids to try and find a home for AND save for a deposit and months rent in advance without anything like this. My biggest worry was that they'll try and eat my deposit anyway and then say i also owe another months rent, could end up giving me major problems when all i do is try and keep my head above water.
Thanks for your help everyone, it's very welcomed.