Exiting tenancy agreement before it begins

izzy96

Hi, I am a tenant renting via a letting agency and am hoping to get some advice regarding ending my tenancy agreement. My partner and I rent a flat which is in a block of flats managed by a building management company. The flat is owned by our landlord but we have no direct contact with him, only with the letting agency. We have lived in the flat for 2 years and recently signed an agreement to renew our tenancy for another year, starting from the 30th May.

Our flat is on the ground floor and has a balcony which backs out onto a small public green space. This week some builders arrived, fenced off the green space and dug a huge hole in front of our flat. We contacted the building management company to try to find out what was going on and they said the builders were onsite to remove the cladding from the building but didn't give any details of what that meant long term. The building management company said the landlords had been informed of the work being done and would have a better idea of timeframes for specific flats.

Since we don't have any contact details for the landlord I phoned the letting agency who said they hadn't been told about any of this and that communications to the landlord go through them so he wouldn't know either. I resorted to asking the builders on site (who were actually more helpful than anyone else) about what was going on. They said that there will be scaffolding erected in front of our balcony and that we can expect it to be there until next April, since we are on the ground floor and it will need to be there to do the works on all the floors above us. I'm not sure whether or not we will be able to access our balcony during this time. They also said there will be some noise during the day whilst they are working.

My partner and I both work from home so this situation is far from ideal for us, and we wouldn't have opted to renew our tenancy agreement had we known these works would be taking place. However, I can't see any break clause or way to end our tenancy agreement now that we have signed it. There is a paragraph under the section outlining out the landlord's responsibilities which says:

"The Landlord confirms that he is the sole or joint owner of the leasehold or freehold interest in the Property and that all appropriate consents necessary for him to sign this agreement have been obtained. The Landlord also confirms that he is not aware of any works or development to any premises or buildings in the neighbouring area which may prevent the Tenant from his quiet enjoyment of the Property."

But I'm not sure if this helps us, since the letting agency are saying they weren't made aware of the works prior to them commencing. I'd really appreciate if anyone could give some advice about what we can do in this situation. Thanks.

canaldumidi

Yes that helps.

If you want to cancel your renewal contract, I would start with a polite convorsation with the agents (sounds like you've done that?) asking them to rip up your tenancy renewal (and confirm in writing to you that the renewal is cancelled._

Follow up with a letter explaining what you have found out about the proposed works.

Enclose copy of the contract and refer to/quote that clause, and clearly state that you only signed because the LL had failed to inform you of the works as required by the contract,  and you will therefore be leaving on 29th May.

saajan_12

izzy96 said:

Hi, I am a tenant renting via a letting agency and am hoping to get some advice regarding ending my tenancy agreement. My partner and I rent a flat which is in a block of flats managed by a building management company. The flat is owned by our landlord but we have no direct contact with him, only with the letting agency. We have lived in the flat for 2 years and recently signed an agreement to renew our tenancy for another year, starting from the 30th May.

Our flat is on the ground floor and has a balcony which backs out onto a small public green space. This week some builders arrived, fenced off the green space and dug a huge hole in front of our flat. We contacted the building management company to try to find out what was going on and they said the builders were onsite to remove the cladding from the building but didn't give any details of what that meant long term. The building management company said the landlords had been informed of the work being done and would have a better idea of timeframes for specific flats.

Since we don't have any contact details for the landlord I phoned the letting agency who said they hadn't been told about any of this and that communications to the landlord go through them so he wouldn't know either. I resorted to asking the builders on site (who were actually more helpful than anyone else) about what was going on. They said that there will be scaffolding erected in front of our balcony and that we can expect it to be there until next April, since we are on the ground floor and it will need to be there to do the works on all the floors above us. I'm not sure whether or not we will be able to access our balcony during this time. They also said there will be some noise during the day whilst they are working.

My partner and I both work from home so this situation is far from ideal for us, and we wouldn't have opted to renew our tenancy agreement had we known these works would be taking place. However, I can't see any break clause or way to end our tenancy agreement now that we have signed it. There is a paragraph under the section outlining out the landlord's responsibilities which says:

"The Landlord confirms that he is the sole or joint owner of the leasehold or freehold interest in the Property and that all appropriate consents necessary for him to sign this agreement have been obtained. The Landlord also confirms that he is not aware of any works or development to any premises or buildings in the neighbouring area which may prevent the Tenant from his quiet enjoyment of the Property."

But I'm not sure if this helps us, since the letting agency are saying they weren't made aware of the works prior to them commencing. I'd really appreciate if anyone could give some advice about what we can do in this situation. Thanks.

That's actually a great clause for you, and not one always included in tenancy agreements. 

Without that, I'd almost say its part of necessary works that you or the LL wouldn't have control over, not wholly unexpected given the publicity of cladding issues and really just part of living in a flat. Freeholders are carrying out works with flat owner occupiers in situ, so I wouldn't say that inherently make a flat ininhabitablle. 

However with that clause, you are actually told there are no works. I'd suggest asking the property management company or even your owner occupier neighbours if and when they were informed about the works. I'd argue leaseholders must have been informed (even if they couldn't object) and its reasonable to assume the LL is reading his emails and hence was aware. Hence you signed on the basis of an incorrect statement. The LL is unable to provide a property as described ie free from major works, so the contract should be frustrated and effectively torn up. Then you're back in the current possession, ie periodic tenancy and can leave with the usual notice. 

izzy96

Thanks for your responses. I had spoken to the letting agency saying that we wished to cancel the tenancy renewal due to the construction work happening and they said we could but only if they could find new tenants to let the flat to. I'll follow up with them and point out that clause as a valid reason to end the agreement early and see where it gets me. Thanks for the help!

canaldumidi

izzy96 said:

Thanks for your responses. I had spoken to the letting agency saying that we wished to cancel the tenancy renewal due to the construction work happening and they said we could but only if they could find new tenants to let the flat to. I'll follow up with them and point out that clause as a valid reason to end the agreement early and see where it gets me. Thanks for the help!

Do not either explicitly or implicitly agree to this.

Your arguement should be that the LL has breached the contract so you are entitled to cancel, not that you accept they can 'find new tenants' as a condition of the cancellation.