Can landlord pull out after I signed AST and paid first month rent?

purple-rain_3

Hi, I was supposed to be moving into my new house next week.  I signed the AST electronically on my agent's online system 3 weeks ago and paid the security deposit and first month rent in full.  The agent has now told me the landlord is pulling out but "not to worry as I will get my money back". 

Needless to say I was angry and shocked because of course simply getting my money back is not compensation for the inconvenience and disappointment and leaves me no time to find a new place.  Before I start getting legal though, I don't know if I have a leg to stand on as I can't see if the landlord signed the AST.  The stupid online system the agent uses made ME electronically sign the AST and made me pay the move-in movies but has not confirmed if/when the landlord signed it and I've not seen any copy of a fully signed document.  It is also dated with the date I was supposed to be moving in, so does that mean it's not taken effect yet?  Does all this mean there is nothing I can do?  

So upset and stressed.

EDIT TO CLARIFY:  reason for this is landlord has decided to sell the house.

saajan_12

purple-rain_3 said:

Hi, I was supposed to be moving into my new house next week.  I signed the AST electronically on my agent's online system 3 weeks ago and paid the security deposit and first month rent in full.  The agent has now told me the landlord is pulling out but "not to worry as I will get my money back". 

Needless to say I was angry and shocked because of course simply getting my money back is not compensation for the inconvenience and disappointment and leaves me no time to find a new place.  Before I start getting legal though, I don't know if I have a leg to stand on as I can't see if the landlord signed the AST.  The stupid online system the agent uses made ME electronically sign the AST and made me pay the move-in movies but has not confirmed if/when the landlord signed it and I've not seen any copy of a fully signed document. - do you have a copy of the doc signed by you? Debatable whether the LL/LA offering you the doc would be seen as them agreeing to it - up to a judge ultimately. 
It is also dated with the date I was supposed to be moving in, so does that mean it's not taken effect yet? - what was the date listed as? On my AST contracts I have a 'binding date' for the date of signing and a 'tenancy start date' . 
Does all this mean there is nothing I can do?  

So upset and stressed.

EDIT TO CLARIFY:  reason for this is landlord has decided to sell the house.

The tenancy hasn't started, so this isn't a question of eviction etc. However the question is whether you have a contractual agreement to start a tenancy, which ultimately a judge would decide:
IF NO then money goes back and everyone walks away
IF YES then they are breaching the contract by not letting you move in, and you claim for your resulting damages. This could be say the difference in rent if there's nothing available at that price, or time searching for a second place, etc. However both would be quite difficult to prove. 

purple-rain_3

The "binding date" is stated as the move-in/tenancy start date 

canaldumidi

saajan_12 said:

purple-rain_3 said:

Hi, I was supposed to be moving into my new house next week.  I signed the AST electronically on my agent's online system 3 weeks ago and paid the security deposit and first month rent in full.  The agent has now told me the landlord is pulling out but "not to worry as I will get my money back". 

Needless to say I was angry and shocked because of course simply getting my money back is not compensation for the inconvenience and disappointment and leaves me no time to find a new place.  Before I start getting legal though, I don't know if I have a leg to stand on as I can't see if the landlord signed the AST.  The stupid online system the agent uses made ME electronically sign the AST and made me pay the move-in movies but has not confirmed if/when the landlord signed it and I've not seen any copy of a fully signed document. - do you have a copy of the doc signed by you? Debatable whether the LL/LA offering you the doc would be seen as them agreeing to it - up to a judge ultimately. 
It is also dated with the date I was supposed to be moving in, so does that mean it's not taken effect yet? - what was the date listed as? On my AST contracts I have a 'binding date' for the date of signing and a 'tenancy start date' . 
Does all this mean there is nothing I can do?  

So upset and stressed.

EDIT TO CLARIFY:  reason for this is landlord has decided to sell the house.

The tenancy hasn't started, so this isn't a question of eviction etc. However the question is whether you have a contractual agreement to start a tenancy, which ultimately a judge would decide:
IF NO then money goes back and everyone walks away
IF YES then they are breaching the contract by not letting you move in, and you claim for your resulting damages. This could be say the difference in rent if there's nothing available at that price, or time searching for a second place, etc. However both would be quite difficult to prove.

I agree with the above but would go a step further. Irrespective of whether the LL has signed the contract (on paper or electronically), I suspect a contract was formed by the LL's acceptance of rent.

Are you sure that was rent though, and not either a 'holding deposit' or a 'security deposit'?

If it was rent and the payment was accepted (as opposed to being immediately returned, or you were in some other way informed it was not accepted), clearly there must have been a contract requiring you to pay it.

This is, of course, a potentail matter of dispute, which could ultimately only be determined by a judge.

In practical terms I would be arguing strongly for a decent goodwill gesture of some kind, or an offer by the agent of a similar, acceptable property,in the same locality, at a similar rent.

purple-rain_3

Yes, it was definitely rent.  I already paid a holding deposit before referencing.  After electronically signing the AST I was directed to remit the security deposit (= 6 weeks' rent) plus the first month's rent (minus the holding deposit).  I have an email acknowledging receipt.

canaldumidi

Well a deposit = to 6 weeks rent is illegal in England.

Where are you?

Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (updated September 2020)

I have an email acknowledging receipt.

Sounds to me like a contract was formed. By not providing the accomodation you have paid for the LL is in breach of contract and liable to compensate for any losses you incur as a result.

GDB2222

Why is the security deposit 6 weeks?

saajan_12

purple-rain_3 said:

Yes, it was definitely rent.  I already paid a holding deposit before referencing.  After electronically signing the AST I was directed to remit the security deposit (= 6 weeks' rent) plus the first month's rent (minus the holding deposit).  I have an email acknowledging receipt.

How much is your rent? If below £4166/month then a security deposit of 6 weeks rent is not permitted by the Tenancy Fee act 2019. This may be a better bargaining chip than arguing about signed contracts, eg say if they pay you £X for your wasted time, then you won't report about the deposit. 

doodling

Hi,

The question you need to ask yourself is "what extra money have I spent as a result of this tenancy not going ahead?".

Once you've worked that out then that is what you claim.  For example, if you can't find somewhere and need to stay in an AirBnB for a week and rent a lock-up to store your stuff while you look then it would be reasonable to claim the costs of the AirBnB and the storage, minus the pro-rata amount of rent you would have paid. That is providing that you've been reasonable and got somewhere comparable to the place you were going to rent - you can't claim for a stay in a 12 bed mansion or rental of an aircraft hanger for your stuff.

If on the other hand your mate let you stay in his spare room and you slept on a massive pile of your stuff then that hasn't cost you anything and the landlord owes you nothing.

You don't, in general, get payment for shock, stress or disappointment only money you've reasonably had to spend.

You also need to remember that a judge might not see things your way if it got to court so don't spend money on the assumption you are guaranteed to get it back.

On the plus side, if you can't resolve it amicably and it does go to court and you win, people selling houses are really easy to extract court judgments from.