Tenant Wants to Leave Early with Only 28 Days' Notice on 12-Month AST Without Break Clause :(

brianposter

One of the deficiencies in British rental legislation is that it simply does not imagine situations where having a managing agent is pointless.

amanda1024

I don't understand why you've already spent £200 cleaning the flat when the tenant isn't moving out until the end of the month? Surely there's a risk they make it dirty again? Or that they plan to clean properly before leaving, in which case you wouldn't have grounds to deduct this cost from the deposit? 

propertyrental

JohnTravoltage said:

I have a few questions:

1. If the deposit goes into dispute with the deposit protection scheme's ADR process, does the adjudicator permit deductions from the deposit to cover for the tenant's rent liability
Yes 
for the full AST duration beyond their early exit, or does the dispute process restrict itself to damages to the property? 
Rent is due till the end of the tenancy and the adjudicator can approve deductions for rent arrears.

1a. If the former, do they restrict it to the duration when then property was vacant until the next tenant was found (which is reasonable)
if a new tenant is found and new tenancy created, and assuming the original tenant has vacated, it is assumed the original tenancy was mutually surrendered (ended) so the original tenant's rent obligations have also ended.
or do they award for the full duration of the early exit
The 'early exit' is legally meaningless. A tenant can leave whenever they wish. It is whether the tenancy has ended that matters. 
If the tenancy has ended, rent is not due
If the tenancy has not ended, rent is due

 (though it's quite likely the deposit may not cover for the full duration if the tenant leaves more than 4-6 weeks early)? 
if the deposit is insufficient to cover all rent arrears and damage, the LL has the option of court action.

2. Also, can the adjudicator enforce the tenant to prove that they've closed their utility accounts with the final meter readings taken on the day of their exit?
No. This is a matter between account holder and utility supplier.
What if they've closed the accounts with readings from 3 months ago, for instance? How does a landlord protect themselves from fraud of this sort?  
By taking meter readings at the end of the tenancy, giving them to the utility supplier, and taking over the account. If there is a discrepancy between the T and LL's readings that is a matter for the 3 parties to resolve (eg the utility company might visit to read the meters).

3. What if the inventory report isn't signed (but acknowledged by the tenants over email)? Is that valid as a document for the deposit dispute? 
The check out report does not need the T's signature.

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deannagone

I think the OP is suggesting he paid £200 for cleaning before the present tenant moved in.  But I have to agree, to stand much chance of claiming against the deposit when the tenant moves out if the flat isn't as clean as they think it should be (or as clean as it was when they moved in), the need a check in and check out inspection/report or comprehensive photos.  As the OP is 6k miles away, they will have to employ someone to do this as already suggested.

As far as I am aware, there is currently a shortage of rentals compared to people looking for them, so I am suprised the OP is having difficulty finding a tenant that meets their criteria.  Perhaps a 'find tenant' agreement with an EA would be possible but they'd have to be prepared to check references/financials themselves to make sure it was done properly.  Personally, I'm not overly trusting EA's will do things properly but they do still have a purpose when finding a tenant.

_Penny_Dreadful

brianposter said:

One of the deficiencies in British rental legislation is that it simply does not imagine situations where having a managing agent is pointless.

What British rental legislation Brian?  There is English tenancy law, Scottish tenancy law and more recently Welsh tenancy law but there has never been British tenancy law.

The requirement for having an address for the serving of notices in England or Wales, as required under the English law that covers this rental property is nothing to do with having to use a management agent and everything to do with the tenant having somewhere to serve notices to the landlord.  It's no good to the tenant or a court only being able to serve notices outside of the law's justification e.g. Venezuela.  

Robbo66

A tenant doesn't need to give notice if they hand the flat back on the last day of the fixed term irrespective of what the contract says, if however they stay one day longer than said date then notice will be required for them to end the tenancy.

So if they do indeed leave vacate on the 27th September but pay the rent till the 28th Oct then they don't need to give notice provided the keys are handed over by the 28th Oct.

theartfullodger

And Northern Ireland legislation...

chanz4

cant refuse if people are on benefits

Robbo66

chanz4 said:

cant refuse if people are on benefits

Yes you can, you just cant use Benefits as the reason however part of the refencing checks is affordability and you can decline any tenant even those on benefits if they don't meet the affordability criteria

deano2099

Just to check, has the tenant given any indication that they won't pay the final month's rent? You mention you asked them about their plans, and they responded and told you their plans: they're going to be leaving on September 27th. That would presumably be important for you to know even if they were going to pay you the last month's rent. You'd need to make arrangement for possession of keys, you'd know it'd be empty for viewings, and so on. Then you "informed the tenant that they are liable for rent until the end of the AST or until a replacement tenant is found" which is fine, it's good to make that clear because yes, maybe they just thought they could not pay that last month's rent.

But unless they've said that, there's every possibility here that they too understand what a 12-month fixed term contract is, and have no intention of reneging on it.