Landlord changing move in date

Bethhlaurenn

Hello,

I'm facing a bit of a dilemma. We are due to be moving into a rental on 08/06/18. I contacted the LA today to enquire about the best time to pick up the keys and he rang me back to inform me the LL wants to move the date a few weeks. I was obviously frustrated but asked if he knew what date the LL was proposing but he could not tell me and would contact me when he had spoken to the LL.

A bit of background: It looks as though the LL bought the property as one house but has added an extension and registered this as a new one bed house which is the property we were due to be renting. All checks were carried out and completed 19/05 and we were advised we would be moving in around the first week of june as the LL was moving out of the main house and selling that property. We didn't see why this would affect our move but were ok with this as it gave me time to book some time off work. When we received the tenancy agreement it was dated as 10/06 for commencement. This was then changed to 08/06 which is a friday allowing us to collect the keys. Me, my boyfriend and the LL have signed this agreement and I have a copy. Now it looks as though we may be moving end of june which I have not yet agreed to. The cause for the delay is the LLs new property is not ready.

Can I say no to this? I have used a weeks holiday to shop for home items, pack our belongings and ultimately move in at the end of the week. I have ordered a sofa to be delivered 1/07. I have contacted, gas, electric, water and council with the 08/06 date. I have booked a small van for us to move our belongings plus insurance. I will need to pay for a bus pass for those two weeks to get to work (the new property is 5 mins away so it is not needed in the future but my current one runs out 14/05). And we also pay £200 a month to my boyfriends dad which is where we are currently staying which is due on the 15th.

I feel like he shouldn't be able to do this once the agreement is signed it says it is legally binding and can hold up in a court of law and there is no clause about the LL changing the date.

Any advice before I speak to the LL again?

da_rule

The only way the contract can be varied (other than by an order of the court) is if the parties agree.

If you cannot move in on the date stipulated in the contract because of an act (or failure to act) on the part of the LL you could have a claim for breach of contract. The LL would be liable for your reasonable and foreseeable losses. So it would be foreseeable that your loss would include paying for accommodation during the period between the date you were supposed to move in and the date you did move in. It may also be foreseeable that you would have booked holiday from work to move in, however, unless your holiday is unpaid proving the value of the loss here is hard. The LL could also argue that he could not foresee the bus issue as he does not know your commuting habits etc.

The important thing for a breach of contract is that you observe your obligations under it, such as paying the rent etc.

However, what is your objective here? The property is not going to be ready and from the sounds of it no amount of jumping up and down will change that. You do not say how much you are paying in rent, but will your losses up until the end of June exceed the amount you have to pay in rent? If your losses are less then you could just agree a one month rent free period with the LL with the understanding that the tenancy still starts on the 8th but you will not go into possession or be liable for any bills in relation to the property until the end of the month. You could also ask for some of your deposit back as a gesture of good will, or a discount on the rent.