Landlord says I owe rent after I gave notice and moved out!

Pixie5740

gabriel771 wrote: »

There taking all my deposit £1125 and looking for someone to move in to end my liability and I am not going to pay them anymore money they think I owe they will have to take me to court which I know they won't waste money on. It was unfair on their half telling me I could leave and basically giving me consent then they went back on their word. Thanks for the replies guys

£1,125 is a fair wedge of money. I'm not sure I would roll over and let them take my entire deposit. Yes the tenancy agreement says you need to give notice on the 5th month rent date but it sounds as if they didn't even understand what their own break clause meant so I would be inclined to dispute the proposed deduction with the deposit scheme.

I would also let the mofos take me to court over the rent of the money too and let judge decide.

AdrianC

gabriel771 wrote: »

There taking all my deposit £1125 and looking for someone to move in to end my liability and I am not going to pay them anymore money they think I owe they will have to take me to court which I know they won't waste money on. It was unfair on their half telling me I could leave and basically giving me consent then they went back on their word. Thanks for the replies guys

How much is your monthly rent?


There's no "they think you owe". You DO owe it. And, yes, they can (and probably will) take you to court - small claim is simple, quick and cheap - and they WILL win. The deposit will be offset against your debt first. They have to mitigate their losses by finding a tenant, but if they don't get somebody moving in before your 12mo fixed period is up, you owe them the entire rent until that date. If they do, then you owe them the rent up until the move-in.



When you get the judgement against you, you will be liable for their costs, and if you do not pay immediately you will be liable for the costs of enforcing the debt. You will also have a CCJ against you.


And all because you couldn't be bothered to read what was in the tenancy contract you agreed to when you moved in...

Pixie5740

AdrianC wrote: »

And all because you couldn't be bothered to read what was in the tenancy contract you agreed to when you moved in...

To be fair to the OP it doesn't sound as if the letting agency read and understood the clause either and it was probably them who wrote the tenancy agreement.

saajan_12

gabriel771 wrote: »

I am in a 12 month fixed term contract there is a break clause in the contract which says:
..
7) Alternatively, either party may terminate this Agreement by giving two month's written Notice to the other party and on expiry of such
Notice the Tenancy will come to an end Without Prejudice to any right of action which either or both parties may have against each other for any breach of this Agreement provided that such Notice is given on the fifth month rent date, I.e. not to expire before the end of the first six month period certain. Should such Notice not be received within these hems, the fixed period will remain for the whole Tern as stated at 7 above and cannot be terminated before that date without the consent of both.- this paragraph is the only one relevant to terminating before the end of the fixed term, and clearly states it only kicks in if notice is served on 5th rent date. You did not, so it doesn't apply. You are still within a fixed term.

Now I called up before I gave notice and asked what would happen if I gave notice and they said I would pay a fee £150 and then my tenancy would end perfect. - they may have misspoken, you may have misunderstood. But a casual conversation cannot amend a written contract (else a written contract would be meaningless as anyone could say it was verbally amended). You don't even say the conversation intended to amend the contract, but rather you were asking a question. After I gave notice (8 months into my tenancy) and already paid a holding deposit for my new place the emailed me and said even though I have given notice I am still liable for rent up until the end of my contract and the liability will end if they get a new tenant. they asked me to confirm this and I obviously did not. - They are correct, you are still liable for rent until the end of the contract. They can choose to with your agreement, mitigate this by finding a new tenant and ending your liability on the same day, but are not obilgated to.
..

gabriel771 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the answer

But i was told different beforehand and since then I have been send lots of emails and the customer representatives has told me different things about the break clause, I have emails showing them saying different terms about my break clause in the same email chain! - if there's different versions of the break clause you can't jsut choose the one most in your favour.
Its clear that is not intending to amend the agreement, so your written contract signed contract ends. No break clause after month 5. I opened an investigation with the property Ombudsman given them all the info I have and told them to also ask the company to present the call log and it is currently underway. The fact they have given me mis-information doesn't that account for anything? - Yes, you can open a complaint with the agents first before proceeding to Ombudsman. But that doesn't amend the contract you have with the LL.

Also worst case scenario and I do owe rent and refuse to pay will they take me to court to get the money and does that appear on my credit history. - yes, if you don't pay it within 30days after getting a judgement.

gabriel771 wrote: »

There taking all my deposit £1125 and looking for someone to move in to end my liability and I am not going to pay them anymore money they think I owe they will have to take me to court which I know they won't waste money on. It was unfair on their half telling me I could leave and basically giving me consent then they went back on their word. Thanks for the replies guys

I understand it feels unfair, but you should have read your legal obligations in the actual agreement rather than relying on a conversation. Court costs are low for small claims and besides you'd be liable for their costs if they win, which they will as the tenancy agreement is clear. They can claim for rent for the rest of the entire fixed term, and don't have to find a replacement, plus their court costs. You'd end up with a CCJ plus recovery costs if you don't pay up immediately.

stator

Yes, let them take you to small claims court.
It's possibly that the judge will decide the tenancy agreement is poorly written, or that the agents mislead you, and he might side with you
But be prepared to lose. You will have to pay the rent plus the small claims court fee.

ThePants999

gabriel771 wrote: »

I am not going to pay them anymore money they think I owe they will have to take me to court which I know they won't waste money on.

Be very certain of your legal position. Because if they're certain of theirs, they most certainly will take you to court - they won't "waste" any money, as if they win, you'll pay their costs.

InterestedParty2018

Sorry that you have been misinformed by the person you spoke to at the Letting Agent.

In future, if you are asking for a concession or to be released from something which has financial implications, get it in writing. "In writing" doesn't always mean they (in this case the LA) will get it right or will absolve you of your contractual obligations, but when you challenge it, it will put you in a much better position.

gabriel771

When I called up the letting agent and they told me I could leave, so wouldn't that count as them given me consent?
And AdrianC I did bother to read the agreement its not very clear anyway but I wanted consent from them allowing me to leave, which technically they did It was my fault that I didn't get it in writing or record the conversation, I wish i had done that.

My rent is £800 per month and I left 16th June and paid half the months rent. So lets say its roughly £200 per week. If someone moves in end of July it would swallow all my deposit. If not then I would owe another month-ish rent so around £800 give or take by the end of August which is the 12th month. Would they bother going to court for that amount its not like its £5000 or something. If they didn't allow me to leave or said all this when i called up I wouldn't of left. So they have to take some blame if they take this to court?

AdrianC

gabriel771 wrote: »

And AdrianC I did bother to read the agreement its not very clear anyway

Yes, it is clear.

but I wanted consent from them allowing me to leave, which technically they did It was my fault that I didn't get it in writing or record the conversation, I wish i had done that.

Yes, if you can prove that there was agreement outside of the terms of the contract, then you'd be fine.

My rent is £800 per month and I left 16th June and paid half the months rent. So lets say its roughly £200 per week. If someone moves in end of July it would swallow all my deposit. If not then I would owe another month-ish rent so around £800 give or take by the end of August which is the 12th month. Would they bother going to court for that amount its not like its £5000 or something.

They certainly could do. It'll cost them £60 to do so, and if they win, that cost is added to the judgement against you.

If they didn't allow me to leave or said all this when i called up I wouldn't of left. So they have to take some blame if they take this to court?

You are saying that they said something, but cannot prove it, and don't know who said it. There's no requirement for a letting agent to record or log calls.
They deny having said that, and point to the written contract you signed.
Balance of probabilities is the standard the case needs to be judged to, not beyond reasonable doubt.

ChrisU

I don't know why people are surprised by the fact that having tied the landlord into a 12 month tenancy that it cuts both ways. This was a totally standard clause that appears in most tenancy agreements...

Yes you may well have been given "consent" to leave early, but that does not relieve you of your contractual obligations; unless that was expressly agreed and such agreement should always be in writing. Otherwise anyone could just walk out whenever the felt like it without paying and claim they had an "agreement".

You will also be liable for the council tax for the duration of the fixed term, or until the property is re-let, whichever comes sooner.

Going to court is not something that should be done lightly, ever. You stand to loose considerably more than you owe, particularly if the court decides you are just trying to dodge your liabilities.