Tenancy advice

katiem188

Hello all, i’m just looking for some advice regarding a family members situation please.

She currently rents a private property, her landlord decided to sell with a tenant in situ 
viewings took place and a new buyer was found and a offer accepted, after this, said family member signed a tenancy agreement at a fixed term with a fixed rent amount so the new landlord couldn’t increase the rent for a set period of time. 

this was a few months back and the sale i don't believe has been finalised yet, the estate agent has been in touch to say they can’t find a copy of the tenancy agreement recently signed - this family member still has a signed copy, they asked if she would sign a new agreement, the rent and term remains the same but the only difference is the new agreement has a special landlord break clause added to say the fixed term can be ended early by issue of a section 21 after 6 months and viewings can take place at any time during the term.

the previous contract doesn’t have a landlord break clause added, and states viewings if wishing to sell the property can only be done a few months prior to the end of the fixed term contract. 

it seems as if maybe sale has fallen through and they are wanting her to sign into a new contract for this specific clause added so viewings can take place again or the contract terminated early 🤔 it seems a bit odd how they can lose a digital contract only signed a few months ago and are wanting to impose a new one with new clauses. 

am i right i’m thinking she doesn’t have to sign this and her current contract still remains vaild for the rest of the fixed term?

any advice welcome! thanks  

_Penny_Dreadful

katiem188 said:

Hello all, i’m just looking for some advice regarding a family members situation please.

She currently rents a private property, her landlord decided to sell with a tenant in situ 
viewings took place and a new buyer was found and a offer accepted, after this, said family member signed a tenancy agreement at a fixed term with a fixed rent amount so the new landlord couldn’t increase the rent for a set period of time. 

this was a few months back and the sale i don't believe has been finalised yet, the estate agent has been in touch to say they can’t find a copy of the tenancy agreement recently signed - this family member still has a signed copy, they asked if she would sign a new agreement, the rent and term remains the same but the only difference is the new agreement has a special landlord break clause added to say the fixed term can be ended early by issue of a section 21 after 6 months and viewings can take place at any time during the term.

the previous contract doesn’t have a landlord break clause added, and states viewings if wishing to sell the property can only be done a few months prior to the end of the fixed term contract. 

it seems as if maybe sale has fallen through and they are wanting her to sign into a new contract for this specific clause added so viewings can take place again or the contract terminated early 🤔 it seems a bit odd how they can lose a digital contract only signed a few months ago and are wanting to impose a new one with new clauses. 

am i right i’m thinking she doesn’t have to sign this and her current contract still remains vaild for the rest of the fixed term?

any advice welcome! thanks  

You are 100% correct. Your family member is under no obligation to sign a new tenancy agreement. 

If the landlord can’t find a copy of the current tenancy agreement your family member could scan and email a copy of hers but she’s not obligated to do that either. 

katiem188

_Penny_Dreadful said:

You are 100% correct. Your family member is under no obligation to sign a new tenancy agreement. 

If the landlord can’t find a copy of the current tenancy agreement your family member could scan and email a copy of hers but she’s not obligated to do that either. 

thank you for your response, i did think this was the case, she would be happy to send a copy over if they require it. It just seemed a little strange given the circumstances of them having misplaced the recent agreement and now wanting her to sign into a new one with different terms that could potentially mean her being evicted before the end of the fixed term. 

_Penny_Dreadful

katiem188 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

You are 100% correct. Your family member is under no obligation to sign a new tenancy agreement. 

If the landlord can’t find a copy of the current tenancy agreement your family member could scan and email a copy of hers but she’s not obligated to do that either. 

thank you for your response, i did think this was the case, she would be happy to send a copy over if they require it. It just seemed a little strange given the circumstances of them having misplaced the recent agreement and now wanting her to sign into a new one with different terms that could potentially mean her being evicted before the end of the fixed term. 

The request from the estate agent does come with the whiff of someone's pants on fire.