Shared Ownership flat is sublet

emdee246

I part-own a flat in a block in London. Cladding has made it impossible to sell. I had to relocate due to work after being made redundant from my job in London. The housing association gave me permission to sublet for one year because I couldn't sell. Without this, there is no way I can pay for the flat and also pay for the rent in my new location.
Now the HA has told me the permission to sublet will not be renewed because the fire safety report is complete and people can sell. I am happy to get the flat on the market and try and sell it asap.
The tenants are refusing to leave. I agreed back in December that I would be willing to extend their lease for one more year but it would depend on getting permission to sublet for one more year. The estate agent drew up a contract and the tenants signed it but I did not. I was waiting to hear from HA if I could extend the permission to sublet.
The estate agent said that they signed the lease on my behalf. I did not sign it and they did not tell me this.
If the tenants don't leave by end of June, then they will be evicted by the HA and I will be in trouble for being in the position of illegaly subletting. If they stay, we both lose. I have made an offer to the estate agent that they can keep the deposit, and they can take all the furniture with them which is valued at nearly £2000.
I don't know what to do and I am losing sleep from the stress.

canaldumidi

By 'estate agent' you mean letting agent? Instructed by you toact on your behalf? If they have signed a new contract with the tenants, I'm afraid that is legally binding and the tenants now anow have a new fixed term (12 months?).

You can,of course, claim damages from the letting agent if they acted against your instructions in breachof your contract with them. but proof might be had unless you have a letter/email clearly instructing them not to renew.

Not sure the HA will be able to easily evict your tenants though...

Not sure why you are offering the agent money or furniture....???

emdee246

Thank you for the reply. I meant I offered to let the tenants keep the deposit and the furniture as a gesture of good will. Yes I mean letting agent.

PRAISETHESUN

Is there anything stopping you from selling the flat with tenants in-situ?

Even if you didn't renew the lease for another 12 months, the lease doesn't just automatically end at the end of the fixed term. It would've moved onto a periodic arrangement as described in the TA. If you're serious about getting rid of the tenants then you need to do things by the book - either convince them to leave early (usually by offering some £££), or take them through the long and expensive legal process to have them removed when the new fixed term expires.

emdee246

I would have to speak to the HA about selling the flat with the tenants still there and see if that will work. 
I am willing to negotiate more with the tenants, e.g by offering them money. 
I'm dealing with 2 different entities - the letting agent telling me they won't leave, and the HA telling me they have to leave. 

silvercar

The HA should understand tenancy law in the UK. So even if they haven’t renewed your permission to sublet, they have to realise that they the tenants are under no obligation to leave immediately.

I would tell them that you are working with your letting agent to end the tenancy as soon as you can legally do so.

emdee246

Thank you for all the replies. I will speak to the HA and hopefully they will understand the situation.

HampshireH

The HA will not evict your tenants. What they may do is seek to bring your tenure to an end due to breach of the terms of your agreement 

Whilst they gave permission they were very clear 1 year. No commitment should have been given to the new tenant and no new agreement they should have been left to go on a rolling tenancy. Regardless of whether you signed it.

It's also not the HA responsibility that it could take 18months for them to leave. That was the risk you took by subletting. The HA don't need to be lenient.

The above sounds harsh. But it is the reality of the situation.

This could be expensive for your if the HA seek possession as you will have those costs to pay and those to evict your tenants 

emdee246

Thank you again for the replies. I am going to have to steel myself for whatever the HA decide to do. I've been naive about what I signed up for with the letting agent. It's just that I worked myself into the ground for 12 years as a low paid key worker in a hospital in East London and I built up a good amount of equity in the flat. That money is all I've got and I'm scared about losing it. I was made redundant so had to move, also being in London was taking its toll on my mental health.