Sharing Tenancy

Sg1783984

Good morning All, 
Im living in a 3 bedroom flat woth other 2  with a sharing tenancy agreement with fix period. We shuold renewed the conctract on the 15th of Febraury but the other 2 tenants decied to leave giving 1 month of notice to the agency due on the 14th of March. It is not a problem at all, also if they did not discuss it with me before as i found other 2 people, which will enjoy a new tenancy agreement by 15th of March.
 
The problem is that the my actual 2 flatmates decied to move out on the 20th of Febraury, they told me that on the 16th of Febraury. As i enjoy the tenenacy when they were already here from a year, all the bills were on their names and as they move out  they did the switch off with all suppliers on date 16th of Febraury.  They came to me with final bills without notice on the 21th of Febraury pretending a payment, i do not yet about council tax. 
I talk with the agency about it and they told me that they shouldn't close the contracts first without consult me as im still in the house, i can not start new contract till the new tenancy agreement will be signed and also the agent told me that all of us till end of the tenancy will be lease on the bills also of they decied to move out early. 

My questions are:
What should i do at this stage? Could i consult the Citizens Advisor service? What shuold i do with the council tax as the new tenants will move in on the 15th of March? The actual tenants shuold still pay the council tax and all others bills till the end? Also, they move out on the 20th and they still have the keys but the switch off has been made on the 16th i cuold request the difference of money? 
There are not verbal and written evidences or agreement with me and  the agency regards their move out early.  Also, i had to spend 30pound for a temporary  wi-fii mobile as they told only 4 days before that they were to switch off the wi fii broadband and Atm i am studing from home. 
Thank you very much and i hope that all of this is make sense for you. 
Simon

MaryNB

Hi Simon, I'm sorry for your situation. The other tenants are still jointly liable for the bills until the end of the tenancy. If they gave notice that it would end on the 14th of March they still need to pay bills until the that date. Even if they move out early their obligation doesn't end until the 14th of March unless new tenants move in before the then. If they don't continue to help pay for the council tax and bills the agency can still charge you for the full amount because it is a joint tenancy,

Sg1783984

Thank you very much for your respond. So the agency can charge them withdraw their sharing cost from their deposit? 

greatcrested

Has th landlord/agent agreed to accept the 2 new tenancts you found, and are they going to give you a new joint tenancy with them starting on 15th Marh?

I'm guessing  "Yes".

If so, the current tenancy ends on the 14th March, an you + the 2 departing tenants all remain responsible for the rent, and gas/electricity, council tax, untill then.

Are you still in contact with the current joint tenants, or have they 'vanished'? If they have left, and you don't know where, there is not much you can do. You are still liable for the full rent and bills and sharing that cost with them is between you and them- it is not the LL/agent's problem.

If you are still in contact with them (what is happening to their post?) you need to explain they owe rent and bills till 14th March, and hope they pay. But it sounds like they might not

One thing you could do is contact the utility companies and explain that the old tenants should not have closed their accounts - perhaps the utility companies will chase them, but again, this is unlikely.....

In the end, if they don't pay anything for Feb 20th - March 14th then:

* you may have to pay it all

* the LL/agent might be sympathetic and 'let you off' some of the rent

* perhaps the new tenants could move in earlier?

* you could sue your ex joint tenants in the small claims court for their share

Sg1783984

I am still in contact with them and also i know where they live atm. I was thinking yesterday to contact the utilities company to explain the facts.  The new tenants will not move before in as they old tenants did not return the keys and they did not agree for an ealry tenancy end. The agency need to do the inspection on the 14th of March. The rent for this month is paid and for the next one will be share with the new tenants.
I just want to against the  tenants with practical solutions under the english law as they did not consider my opinion on the move out and switch off early. If they talk with me before as normal people do i did not have any problems with that.
Thank you very much

greatcrested

So they have paid rent up to March 14th, and the problem is the bills?

Your best solution is to discuss this with them an try to reach an agreement on an amount they contribute.

They might, for example, say that as you are te only one living ther at present the gas/electric bills will be lower. Or they might say that as they are not using any gas/elctric they should not pay anything.

All you can do is ask, and try to reach agreement.

But ultimately, under English law, you are all 3 liable, so you would have to take them to court for their share, using moneyclaim online.