Am I liable to pay rent even though I have turned in the keys and ended my tenancy?

Newhousebuyer97

I am in the process of purchasing a home and it is due to be completed in August. 
My tenancy agreement ends in July and there is no option for a short-term agreement so I have opted to move out. I had already started moving out so had little to no furniture left in the apartment. I notified my letting agent and landlord of my intent in April and told them I'd be happy to move out earlier if they found someone. They agreed to this and were able to find a new tenant to take over my tenancy in June. I got an email notifying me that I need to return the keys by the 31st of May and that would be the end of my tenancy. I would no longer be allowed into the flat. The new tenants will move in on the 10th of June. However, I am liable to pay the rent from the 31st of May till the 10th of June. I understand the agent needs time to prepare the flat for the new tenants, but I don't know why I must keep paying rent after I have fully moved out and returned the keys. I opted to pay, as I was threatened with an increase in charge for every day late the payment was and I still have not received my deposit. 
I want to know if this is allowed and what recourse I have. 

lisyloo

Have you asked them why they think you are liable for the rent after the tenancy ends?

la531983

They are trying it on. If you have it in writing the 31st May is the end of your tenancy, the void period of 10 days afterwards is not your problem.

Danien

The landlord made the choice for tenancy to end 31st May - he could have said 9th June but he wanted a void period to prepare the house. If he wanted you to pay to the 9th then that's when the tenancy should end. As has already been said they are trying it on.

njkmr

End of May is what you have agreed.
Just because the property is now empty does not mean you pay for the void period before the new tenant arrives.
Tell em where to go...!

Bookworm105

in English law the rental period is indivisible, ie the rent cannot be charged by the day if the tenancy period is, for example, "monthly"

However, in your case, you have written evidence that they have accepted your "surrender" of the lease on the terms they imposed, return keys on (or before) 31 May .

You have a strong case for disputing any rent charged in the 10 days of June is wrong

Newhousebuyer97

lisyloo said:

Have you asked them why they think you are liable for the rent after the tenancy ends?

They replied " You signed a one-year agreement and so you are  liable for the rent until July"  therefore I must pay until the new tenants move in. This doesn't make sense to me. My interpretation is the landlord does not want any interruption in revenue and so is forcing me to pay for the gap between tenants. This is not relevant but they have also upped the rent by 20% for good measure for the new tenants. 

Newhousebuyer97

Bookworm105 said:

in English law the rental period is indivisible, ie the rent cannot be charged by the day if the tenancy period is, for example, "monthly"

However, in your case, you have written evidence that they have accepted your "surrender" of the lease on the terms they imposed, return keys on (or before) 31 May .

You have a strong case for disputing any rent charged in the 10 days of June is wrong

Can I still dispute even though I have already paid?
I am not sure how to dispute it, so I wanted some advice as this forum has been useful to me in the past months. 
I was going to complain to the property ombudsmen.

Voyager2002

First: check that your deposit is properly protected.

(If not, the landlord could be required to pay you a penalty of up to a year's rent, but you lose the right to claim this at the end of the tenancy. So check this out first: you will find full details on the Shelter and Shelter Legal web pages.)

[Deleted User]

When is the rent usually due in a given month.

RHemmings

Voyager2002 said:

First: check that your deposit is properly protected.

(If not, the landlord could be required to pay you a penalty of up to a year's rent, but you lose the right to claim this at the end of the tenancy. So check this out first: you will find full details on the Shelter and Shelter Legal web pages.)

I think you may have this wrong. The penalty for failing to protect a deposit is from 1x to 3x the deposit. Also, I believe that the penalty is independent from the deposit. So, you can still claim the deposit back even if you are receiving a penalty for not protecting. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/deposits/taking-your-landlord-to-court-if-they-havent-followed-the-deposit-rules/

OP - which of the Property Ombudsman Scheme or Property Redress Scheme is the EA a member of? You mention the 'property ombudsman' so can you confirm that it's the Property Ombudsman Scheme, not a property ombudsman in general. You need to go through the EA's complaints procedure first. Again, information on the complaints process for the EA should be on their website. 

OP - I'm just going to be a bit devil's advocate here. You had an agreement going on until July. But, you are wanting to leave early. The EA is letting you leave early, and having found a new tenant who is moving in, want you out of the house a week and a bit early to prepare the house for the new tenant. If this were a legal contract dispute and you were seen as having broken the one-year contract, then the landlord can sue you for their losses. However, the landlord is expected to minimise their losses. I am slightly wondering if the EA's action in wanting you out of the house by the 31st but for you to pay up to the 9th is them minimising their losses. Now, you have paid and this hasn't gone to court and hence the situation is different. But, only as a devil's advocate position (not meaning to cast EAs and landlords as 'the devil'), I wonder if from their point of view the solution they have offered you is reasonable and has minimised the amount that you have to pay without the landlord experiencing losses. Including a - they may feel reasonable - time between you moving out and the new tenant moving in. 

Note: I in reality agree with the viewpoint in posts above that they have agreed to an early end of the tenancy through their language, but I wanted to think about it from the landlord's and EA's viewpoint.