Landlord changing mind about new tenants

KnightSmile

Hi MSE'ers,

Im posting on behalf of my sister who is currently renting. She has rented for two years, paying in full and on time every month. She is a lone parent with 2 kids and my dad is her guarantor.

She recently signed a 6 month extension but decided to move area due to her first child starting school soon. She has found a new place to rent and before she agreed to the new rental, asked her current landlord whether she could break the 6 month extension. He said it was fine as long as she finds a new tenant straight away. In return my sister paid half of the advertising cost and got lots of interest with some offering to move in asap. However, the landlord changed his mind and now only want a tenant with no guarantor. This is unlikely to happen, so my sister is left on the hook for 4 months rent.

I'm aware that it was my sister's choice to go back on the 6 month extension and I know the Landlord is now in a great position and can afford to be picky about his next tenant but it doesn't feel right that he can change his mind from his original position but if its legal then I suppose its one of those things.

I'd quite like to provide my sister some advice - grateful for MSE'ers views - is there anything we can do here?

Regards,

Will

lisyloo

Does she have an email from him stating his position?
If it was verbal then it's her word against his which is not a great position.

KnightSmile

lisyloo - Thanks for your reply. Its exactly what I asked her. She said it was a phone conversation and is now going via an agency where they just ignore some of her questions.

Do you think she should summarise what has already been agreed via email or is it pretty pointless if he just denies it? The difficulty still remains that he seemed quite flexible but has now decided not to be.

letitbe90

KnightSmile wrote: »

lisyloo - Thanks for your reply. Its exactly what I asked her. She said it was a phone conversation and is now going via an agency where they just ignore some of her questions.

Do you think she should summarise what has already been agreed via email or is it pretty pointless if he just denies it? The difficulty still remains that he seemed quite flexible but has now decided not to be.

At the end it is his income (which he could very much rely on ) and if he does not feel comfortable with the tenant for whatever reason, it is his perogative. In the end, he has to look after himself. He is running a business, not a charity. He may have read something or spoke to someone which has caused him to change his mind, which he has a right to.

lisyloo

KnightSmile wrote: »

lisyloo - Thanks for your reply. Its exactly what I asked her. She said it was a phone conversation and is now going via an agency where they just ignore some of her questions.

Do you think she should summarise what has already been agreed via email or is it pretty pointless if he just denies it? The difficulty still remains that he seemed quite flexible but has now decided not to be.

I sympathise but the criteria for suitable tenant are his choice.
It sounds like this wasn’t spelt out or recorded.

My advice for readers is to get any potentially important decision in writing/email (with criteria if necessary).

Hasbeen

KnightSmile wrote: »

However, the landlord changed his mind and now only want a tenant with no guarantor. This is unlikely to happen,
Will

Sorry, do not understand that the Landlord only wants a tenant without a guarantor.

Its up to the landlord to ask for this or not?

KnightSmile

thanks for the replies.

You have reminded me that the Landlord is thinking about this from a business perspective which is absolutely what he should be doing, but I think its unethical to to lie about the original agreement resulting in a single parent having to pay an extra £4,000 when he wont have any loss by accepting a type of tenant he has had previously and in 4 months time will likely accept again. Although I accept that doesn't mean he cant do that.


The Landlord has said he doesn't want a tenant with a guarantor due to house insurance reasons - I have no idea what that means. Its a bit strange given my sister is in his property and has a guarantor at the moment so I hope he has the correct insurance right now.

It might be worth my sister politely asking him to reconsider but feels unlikely.

Slithery

Hasbeen wrote: »

Sorry, do not understand that the Landlord only wants a tenant without a guarantor.

Perfectly sensible. The LL wants a tenant that can pass all of the affordability and background checks themselves without needing to rely on a guarantor as backup. I'd do the same if I was currently a landlord.

G_M

KnightSmile wrote: »

t


The Landlord has said he doesn't want a tenant with a guarantor due to house insurance reasons - I have no idea what that means.
it means the insurer specifies what catagoryof tenancy the landlord can/can't grant for the insurance to be valid.

Its a bit strange given my sister is in his property and has a guarantor at the moment so I hope he has the correct insurance right now.
a) none of your busines whether his insurance is 'right' or not. Nor your sister's.
b) but it IS the LL's right to select/refuse any applicant, for any (legal) reason (insurance would be legal)
c) erhaps the LL is switching insurer?


It might be worth my sister politely asking him to reconsider but feels unlikely.

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KnightSmile

G_M wrote: »

................................................................................................

thanks for providing me with further details, it helps me understand the situation and I appreciate it.

I think it boils down to the landlord breaking the original (verbal) agreement where he stated he would be happy for my sister to move on as long as she quickly found a tenant so there wasn't a gap. He didn't state that he wanted a specific type of tenant and didn't specify who he didn't want in the advert my sister paid half towards.

If he had told her about these extra conditions, my sister wouldn't have signed for a new tenancy and now have to find thousands of pounds.

He is clearly treating it like a business arrangement which is his right and willing to allow an unnecessary tenant gap because it allows him to find a so called better tenant. To that end, if he doesn't make much of an effort in the next few weeks to find somebody for the tenancy, I'll encourage my sister to make minimal effort in the remaining weeks of the tenancy to accommodate viewings - it works both ways.

G_M

When agreeing an Early Surrender, it is always wise to get any terms, costs, or conditions confirmed in writing.