Urgent advice on notice/vacating a property

anselld · 2 May at 6:59AM

Wishing correct notice per contract is not greedy but having cake-and-eat-it with renovations certainly is.
However, you decided to have nothing more to do with it and move on which is fair enough but there is no point in pursuing matters further if that is the case.

pinkshoes · 2 May at 7:25AM

By all means pay until the 31st May but I would NOT be permitting access to anyone!!

If he wants his builders to do work then he should be ending your tenancy early.

saajan_12 · 2 May at 11:15AM

rero71 said:

Thanks everyone.

We’ve ended up paying rent until the 31st of May.

After a discussion with the (almost 80yo) landlord, who frankly struggles to communicate when someone disagrees with him, and because we no longer want any further involvement with him, we left the keys and checked out the house and had to agree that he could begin renovation works with his builders during May. This is despite the fact that we’re still paying full rent, water, electricity (no gas) and council tax, and remain legally responsible for the property.

...
Our question is this: if we find out that new tenants move in before the end of May, while we’re still paying for the property, is that legal? And if not, is there anything we can do about it?

This whole situation feels extremely unfair. We left the house in much better condition than we found it (apart from normal wear and tear, like a fresh re-paint needed after 5 years), we’re clean, respectful, and careful tenants. And yet, this landlord (who owns multiple properties) has squeezed every last penny from a young couple, all while pretending to care about how hard it is for young people to buy their first home.

If any landlords are reading this, what’s your perspective? Isn’t this exactly what greed looks like?

You didn't have to agree to anything of the sort. If you'd paid up until 31st May then you don't need to return the keys or allow renovation until that date. The LL can of course come to the negotiating table if he wants to start renovation early, eg charge you zero / half rent for the month. Its only unfair because you've let it be.

At this stage, yes the LL may not allow new tenants to move in. If they do, then yes you could claim they have failed to provide accommodation let alone 'quiet enjoyment' for (part of) the month of May, so your rent should be refunded. However the practical mechanism for that would be to file a small claims court, which it seems you might be reluctant to do.
The only other option is to either let it go, or get your keys back (since its still your rental for the rest of the month). That would put the ball back in their court ie if they want access they can give back some rent.

PRAISETHESUN · 2 May at 12:12PM

I echo the posts above. I would definitely recommend NOT allowing access for builders unless he agrees to surrender the tenancy early for you.

Tabieth · 2 May at 2:00PM

It’s a bit late but I don’t think you should have handed back the keys. You contractually owe rent to the end of May, but you didn’t have to hand back the keys or agree to giving him / builders access. I hope you got photos on the property before you left in case there’s any dispute?