Letting agency going back on what was essentially a notice

Moonlight_K

Hi all,

I would appreciate some advice on the following:

We are renting a flat with a fixed agreement that has been concluded for 1 year, it expires Aug 31st 2023. We have contacted the letting agency in May asking if maybe they could let us go earlier seeing as we were good tenants, paying in time etc (we bought a house and would be moving in in July, we were just trying to see if we could avoid paying the rent and the mortgage at the same time for at least 1 month). We thought it’s worth a try not hoping for much. They came back saying that the landlord has actually decided to sell this property and that if the sale goes through before the end of our tenancy, they will let us go.

On June 19th we receive an email stating that our tenancy will end July 31st. My husband reconfirmed it with them, asking if the rent payment taken out this month is the final one and if he can cancel the standing order. The reply was ‘yes, I can confirm your final months payment has now been paid and you can cancel your standing order’. Between then and today (July 13th) there was also more discussions about other matters.

However, today we receive an email saying that it was a mistake and that our final month of the rent is August. A pretty big mistake with massive repercussions for us. As you can imagine we have already made all the arrangements to vacate the flat by the end of July which also includes notifying the council, utilities and internet people about the move. Not to mention the works on the new house and everything that goes with it. My husband has taken the time off to re-decorate. All of that thinking that we need to move out by the end of July. And of course additional cost of one more month of the rent in the flat that will be empty!

My question is: is this legit at all? Can the letting agency do that? Just basically change what sounded like a notice after almost a month? This surely can’t be right or legal!

Any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance!

born_again

They have not changed the notice. Only realised that they made a error with payments due. Which they are allowed to correct.

If you back track your monthly payments you should be making 11, as you have been let out a month early.
You may need to also factor in a extra payment which would be the deposit. Which should be refunded.

Divorcing_Dad

born_again said:

They have not changed the notice. Only realised that they made a error with payments due. Which they are allowed to correct.

If you back track your monthly payments you should be making 11, as you have been let out a month early.
You may need to also factor in a extra payment which would be the deposit. Which should be refunded.

I'm not sure that's right. The agency have agreed that the tenancy ends on the 31st July.
Now, I'll make an assumption that the rent is paid in advance. Therefore, the last payment would be due on the 1st July. No payment would be due on the 1st August.

born_again

That is why I said needs to check number of payments made. 👍

saajan_12

Moonlight_K said:

..

On June 19th we receive an email stating that our tenancy will end July 31st. My husband reconfirmed it with them, asking if the rent payment taken out this month is the final one and if he can cancel the standing order. The reply was ‘yes, I can confirm your final months payment has now been paid and you can cancel your standing order’. 

IMO the above would be considered a mutual agreement to terminate the tenancy on 31st July. (Its not notice as it doesn't fulfill the stringent criteria for that, but the effect is the same). 

Based on that agreement, you made other decisions (ie where to spend your money, when to complete on your house which you may otherwise have delayed, etc), so they can't now unilaterally modify or breach that. 

Moonlight_K

born_again said:

That is why I said needs to check number of payments made. 👍

That’s correct, we would have made 11 payments but they now want us to make a 12th one for August. Although we were under the impression that we won’t be paying for August because our tenancy finishes on July, 31st.

In my understanding when they sent us that email on June 19th, they have told us that the tenancy now ends on July 31st and that the payment on July 1st was the last one. But what they are essentially saying now is that the tenancy ends on Aug 31st which also means that we have to pay on Aug 1st again.

Hope this makes sense!

Divorcing_Dad

born_again said:

That is why I said needs to check number of payments made. 👍

Yeah, I'm a bit confused too.
But they've said that the final payment is August.

Moonlight_K

saajan_12 said:

Moonlight_K said:

..

On June 19th we receive an email stating that our tenancy will end July 31st. My husband reconfirmed it with them, asking if the rent payment taken out this month is the final one and if he can cancel the standing order. The reply was ‘yes, I can confirm your final months payment has now been paid and you can cancel your standing order’. 

IMO the above would be considered a mutual agreement to terminate the tenancy on 31st July. (Its not notice as it doesn't fulfill the stringent criteria for that, but the effect is the same). 

Based on that agreement, you made other decisions (ie where to spend your money, when to complete on your house which you may otherwise have delayed, etc), so they can't now unilaterally modify or breach that. 

Thanks! An exchange of emails is considered a legal thing then?

born_again

Moonlight_K said:

born_again said:

That is why I said needs to check number of payments made. 👍

That’s correct, we would have made 11 payments but they now want us to make a 12th one for August. Although we were under the impression that we won’t be paying for August because our tenancy finishes on July, 31st.

In my understanding when they sent us that email on June 19th, they have told us that the tenancy now ends on July 31st and that the payment on July 1st was the last one. But what they are essentially saying now is that the tenancy ends on Aug 31st which also means that we have to pay on Aug 1st again.

Hope this makes sense!

I would go back & question giving a list of payments & dates of them, saying as they have agreed to end tenancy a month early that the last payment is not due.
That way you can prove number of payments made & what should be due.

Odd's on someone has missed LL agreeing to end tenancy a month early.

Could also double check with LL on this, in case agent is trying to pull a fast one.

Newcad

As stated above this is not 'notice', it is a mutual agreement to end the fixed term of the tenancy early. Such agreed early surrender is legal.

Emails are legal as documentation, (when I took the tenancy of my current flat everything including the Tenancy Agreement was done by email - covid), in fact even verbal agreement would be legal but emails are a written record.

As long as you comply and leave on (or before) the agreed date then no rent is due after that agreed date.

The Agency are the landlords agents, they act for the landlord (as if they were the landlord).
If they have made such an agreement without the landlords knowledge, and the LL now doesn't agree, then that is a matter between them and the landlord.

saajan_12

Moonlight_K said:

saajan_12 said:

Moonlight_K said:

..

On June 19th we receive an email stating that our tenancy will end July 31st. My husband reconfirmed it with them, asking if the rent payment taken out this month is the final one and if he can cancel the standing order. The reply was ‘yes, I can confirm your final months payment has now been paid and you can cancel your standing order’. 

IMO the above would be considered a mutual agreement to terminate the tenancy on 31st July. (Its not notice as it doesn't fulfill the stringent criteria for that, but the effect is the same). 

Based on that agreement, you made other decisions (ie where to spend your money, when to complete on your house which you may otherwise have delayed, etc), so they can't now unilaterally modify or breach that. 

Thanks! An exchange of emails is considered a legal thing then?

An agreement is an agreement which can generally be verbal, written on scraps of paper,  printed and signed, etc outwith any restrictions (eg deeds, land transfers etc). Less formal agreements (eg verbal) can be difficult because a. you can't prove what was said and b. they could argue it was an offhand comment not expected to be binding where other commuincations have been more formal.

However in this case,
- its in writing
- at the time was mutually beneficial, so not overly onerous on one side
- the language was decisive ("I can confirm", no mention of a follow up paper agreement)
- you had reason to believe you were communicating with the right person representing the LL (presumably you've emailed them before, they were happy emailing back)

Its not about a tickbox as to what is and isn't a 'legal thing' but I'd say you had an agreement. Further, you then <detrimentally relied> on their statement. 

Note I'm assuming the issue is they now want the tenancy to continue until  31st Aug ie you end up paying 12 months rent. If its just a discrepancy of rent payments as to when your last one would be, ie tenancy end 31st July but your 11th rent payment would be 1st Aug, then they are right and can correct a mistake.