I have been living in a privately rented property since October 2010, signing a six month lease to begin with and a yearly one since April 2011. Long story short I am about to move out as I take my family back to my hometown and finally escaping the city but I am not sure what responsibilities I have when moving out. I have been living in the house with my wife and three kids so obviously there has been general wear and tear to the property (hard to avoid with kids aged 11,8 and 2) but nothing that I would deem extreme (for want of a better word). During the time that we have lived here the landlord has fitted a new bathroom and added an extension to the back to give us a kitchen diner so he has put some money into the property but the new kitchen is at least 2 years old now and there are some signs of wear on the walls (dirty marks etc). As for the living room we painted a couple of the walls red (they were all beige when we moved in) and my youngest has ripped the net curtains in a couple of places. Is it down to me to repaint the house back to the colours that were in place before we moved in or is that up to the landlord to sort out? I have filled in a couple of small holes in the wall that I made when putting up pictures (DIY is not my strong suit) but there are sizeable holes that were made by the sky engineer when he was fitting our multi room so agin is it my job to fill those or not? Upstairs there is an unpainted wall in my baby sons room which the landlord had replastered to try and fix a damp issue that we have throughout the upper floor of the house but he never came back to get it painted and I was so hacked off with his inability to sort the damp issue properly that I refused to paint it myself. On the wall going up the stairs there are small patches of damp which I try my best to keep clean but keep coming back and in my bedroom there is alot of damp coming through around where the landlord had new plaster boards fitted to the celings as his solution to the problem (I dread to think what it might actually be like under the new boards he fitted). Oh and in my daughters bedroom there is a hole in the wall where the builder who fitted the new bathroom drilled right through from the bathroom when fitting the sink to the wall. Finally there are stains on the carpet (which has not been changed since we moved in) though again I would argue that these are not necessarily anything out of the general wear and tear that occurs with kids over time. I guess what I'm asking is, how much work am I expected to put in when it comes to leaving the property and handing it back to the landlord? Do I have to repaint the whole place and are things like carpets my responsibilty? Also do I have to fill holes made by other people and is it up to me to replace the net curtain or can I just take it down? Oh and whilst I think about it the landlord fitted a sheet of lino on the floor in the new kitchen but it has never been completely flat and therefore it has sustained small tears in certain places meaning the whole sheet will likely have to come up, is this down to me or him? My wife says she does not intend to replace or pay for anything as his false fixes for the damp and other things like fitting a heat detecting alarm directly above the oven meaning it constantly goes off have annoyed her to the point that she doesn't see why she should have to. Speaking of the oven it has not worked properly since the new kitchen was fitted as evrytime you turn on the switch to be able to use the ovens ignition button it trips the circuit for the entire room and stops everything from working. Rather than agreeing to fix the problem which would have involved having to sort out the electrics by taking tiles and so on off the walls his solution was that we should light the oven with matches which involves having to squeeze a match into one of the slits in the bottom of the oven and turning on the gas whilst hopefully not burning yourself We have been doing this the entire time the new kitchen has been there. So is she right in thinking there are issues with the house so on the grounds of fairness we should not have to repaint walls etc or do we not have a leg to stand on?

My friend and her family need to move of out of the current rented property due to relocation of her company to North of England. If they do not move they will be unemployed. she sent the landlord a letter to say that they need to move and give them one months' notice. There is ample notice and they undertook the tenancy on the 13th last year. the 13th of April to 13th of May would have been sufficient. In fact she is giving one month’s notice as of today giving them 10 extra days. However, the letting agent has sent the following email asking them to pay for the whole year. Is this common? Can they do this? Your early response would be greatly appreciated. This is what the letting agency said: Quote The Landlord will agree to market the property with a view to releasing you early subject to the following terms: • You will remain fully responsible for the property, rental payments, utility payments and additional contractual obligations outlined in your tenancy agreement until the date that a new tenancy commences • You will cover the following costs on behalf of the Landlord associated with re-letting the property: - Inventory check in - Let fee of £354 (inclusive of VAT) - Agreement fee of £180 (inclusive of VAT) These costs are in addition to the standard costs associated with you leaving, i.e. professional cleaning and check out fee. Unquote

Hi, Hopefully someone can offer me some advice here, sorry for the long post. I live in Bristol and have a statutory periodic tenancy on a rolling one month basis. I have been here just over a year. My landlady has repeatedly breached the tenancy agreement by coming round and allowing herself and workmen access to my house with no notice whatsoever. My tenancy agreement says she must give 24 hours notice for any visit. I have told the letting agents in writing on several occasions that I am categorically not OK with this and I insist on notice. They have informed me (in writing) that they have asked the landlady to provide me with notice of her visits, but this has happened numerous times since. I live alone and I feel like I've been robbed of my privacy and harassed in my own home. As a result, I have found somewhere else to live, but I cannot move in for a month or so yet, maybe longer. My question is, because she has breached the tenancy agreement, can I serve my one month's notice from any date, citing these breaches, rather than the date of the rental payment (the 21st). When I can move, I want to get out of this house as soon as possible, and I don't need a reference from her for my new flat. I know "fair" doesn't hold always much weight legally, but it doesn't seem right that she can breach the agreement at will and suffer no consequences, but if I breached the terms, I would be served notice and evicted. I would be happy to stay here had I not been subject to this treatment, but now I feel I have no choice if I want a quiet life.

Apology if this is in the wrong place....unsure where it should be. 28yr old homeless through no fault of their own, taken in my family member but they need to have a tenancy agreement in place to get help with rent. Currently not working due to having to leave work and area as nowhere to live and relocate to family for help but keen job seeker. How or can ... a tenancy agreement be made in these circumstances please.

Hi All, I have served notice to my landlord to move out of my apartment on 01/12/2016. There are no arrears and everything is up to date. My landlord however wants to do an inspection on 14/12/2016 which is over 2 weeks before the tenancy ends and I feel will not truly represent the condition the property will be in before handing the apartment back to him. The reasons given by him for doing this are to get an assessment done for trades people to fit there schedules and to prepare the property for the letting agent. This is all very well and good but the landlord has said if they cannot gain entry they have said the following and I quote "It will be a long time before you can get your deposit back if at all" The LL requested access on Monday for the pre-end inspection. However I advised I am currently harboring a contagious condition, which I have had 6 courses of antibiotics to treat, been struggling with for over 2 months and it's still not close to gone. I also have extensive medical history and take various medications for my ailments nearly all of which cause some form of drowsiness. I am also classed as a vulnerable person. I have said to the landlord that I am harboring this condition and that it is contagious. I have not had any response since then despite a reply the same day. I have chased him up today and still no response. I could absolutely evidence that I've had several hospital visits in the last 3 months for this condition. During the weekend I was involved in an accident, my arm is in a sling as I cannot use my left hand at all. So as you've probably gathered I'm not feeling too social at the moment. I am aware that he probably has the right to enter in these circumstances, But I feel the inspection won't be a genuine representation of the condition of the flat after I leave. I plan to repair some things which have broken overtime and deep clean the property as I have lived there for 4 years. Can anyone suggest how I should approach this please? I don't want to make out that I'm using these ailments as an excuse to deny the landlord entry. I'm actually thinking I don't want to pass him the condition. But threatening the deposit if he can't get in? Really?! Seems a little unreasonable if you ask me. Thanks again in advance for any advice

Hi, Can anyone explain legal term in Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement'...execusion of this agreement..' Rent in advance was paid on execusion of this agreement and then mothly afterwards. The agent twists this part. Thanks,

Hi, someone can help ! Over the weekend I put in an offer to rent a property, and was given a date as to when i could move in providing referencing went through ok etc etc. The problem now is that my boss, who is my referrer, is now on holiday and wont be able to sign anything until he is back. I need to move out and into a new place before he is back. Perhaps naively, I actually thought that they would simply call or email him and ask to confirm any details that I put down, he is contactable this way, but wont be able to print and sign anything off before he gets back. Which leaves me in a bit of a pickle. I can move my stuff out and and move somewhere else, but once ive moved somewhere else I wont be able to (or want to for that matter) move my belongings again. The lettings company charged me £400 pretty much immediately, and i am wondering if i am within my right to ask for a refund. I didnt sign anything when i sent over the £400. No checks have been made as yet, i found this all out just now as ive received the landlord hub referencing form. thanks in advance

hi i have a question for you all will try to make it simple your advice will be much appreciated i have a tenancy agreement signed on the back page by owner/ landlord on the first page it has the name let's say arthur biggs of renttoday ltd not signed accelerated process procedure applied for but agent arthur biggs has signed all court papers not the landlord/ owner will this make the order invalid many thanks also the ltd company mentioned on the agreement dissolved compulsory strike off several years ago companies house

Hello everyone, I hope that you can help me. Sorry this is really long but I'll try to get all the info in. I have been out of the UK for a number of years but found a job this year in the UK. I found a studio flat advertised online and arranged to rent it. The property was advertised on spareroom by the landlord but I had difficulty arranging an evening viewing with him, so he suggested 2 other local companies that he works with to arrange a viewing. I believe they are letting agents. I originally thought they owned some of the flats but now I know that he owns them all and they act as agents. I said from the beginning that I might not stay after 6 months (this was also the min. term advertised online) as my probation period was 6 months and I had a feeling I might not like the job! I signed what I thought was a tenancy agreement with the letting agent, and a form for a reference search, both of these state 6 months (but the form that I thought was the tenancy agreement has SUBJECT TO CONTRACT at the top). The letter that I signed states the fees required for referencing & moving in, the move-in date, 6 month term and amount to pay in advance to landlord which was 1 months rent and a deposit of the same amount. The bank details given were of the letting agent though (probably one of the reason I thought they were the landlord). When I arranged to pick the keys up I went to the agents office & they then informed me that the actual landlord would meet me at the property. So there I met him, got the keys and he gave me a standing order mandate form with first payment due a month after moving in and last payment of "until further notice". This form gave the landlord's bank details which were different to the initial payment I made. There was no itinerary taken and he seemed like a relaxed, genuine guy. I can't remember if the min. term came up in conversation but I know if he'd said 12 months I'd have said I only agreed to 6. After I'd been moved in for a week or two I received the protected deposit letter which I signed one copy of and sent back. Fast forward 4 months and I decided to leave my job as I didn't like it. I contacted the letting agent to say that I'd be moving out and they then said my contract was a 12 month contract. They told me the landlord had agreed to let me leave early as long as they could find someone else and then I'd just have to pay the re-let fee (no mention of that in the paper I signed with the fees listed). They said they have a draft copy of the contract on file that states 12 months. I asked them to send it to me but they won't, they want me to send them what I've signed. Looking through all my paperwork I don't actually have a tenancy agreement! And on further inspection of the deposit protection letter, I can see that the end of AST tenancy is listed as 12 months after my move-in date. I didn't notice this at the time, and I've also seen that my name is spelt wrong. So I have 2 forms that say 6 months and one that says 12. Can they make me pay for 12 months because I didn't notice that the date was wrong on the deposit protection letter? The letting agent say it's not their problem and I have to deal with the landlord but he hasn't answered my phone calls or email. The original listings on spareroom are now removed and messages are deleted after 2 months. I've managed to find an old ad of the place from the 2nd letting agent which states 6 months minimum term but I don't know if that's enough. There is absolutely no way I'd have rented a place if the minimum term was 12 months because I had a very strong feeling that I would be moving again. I've spoken to spareroom and they won't let me have the information from the expired ads because they say it's a breach of data protection! I cancelled the standing order for the last month's rent because I'm worried that they will take my deposit anyway. I would have only had one more month to pay for before the 6 months was up. I am worried about the council tax because when I called the council to say I'd be leaving they said I was liable to pay tax for the full term of the tenancy agreement unless the landlord takes over.

I have a query relating to a situation my partner finds herself in. This is happening in Scotland if it makes a difference. A little background first to let you know why we find ourselves in this position: My partner rents a house at the moment and the tenancy is managed by a letting agency. She has lived in the property for around 6 years, slightly more, and in January this year renewed her tenancy for a further 6 months. She did this knowing we were about to begin looking for our first home together, however we both felt it was a good idea to give ourselves some time without having to worry about a roof over her head. At the time of renewing she inquired with the letting agency whether a shorter-term lease might be available but was told 6 months was the minimum they would offer. She agreed to that, however she was told that at any time she could pay them £180 to readvertise the house. If they found another suitable tenant the tenancy would transfer and she would no longer be liable for the remaining rental period. We thought that seemed a bit steep but agreed. Move forward a month and we have quite unexpectedly found a house we love, we've bought it and get the keys in a few weeks time. As a consequence my partner popped into the letting agency, paid the £180 and they readvertised the house. Within a day they found someone who wanted the house and paid a holding deposit. As far as we know they haven't signed any formal agreement yet, however the letting agency are no longer advertising the house. I'm finally getting to my question you'll be delighted to hear. We checked with the letting agency about what would happen if this new tenant pulled out. We were more than a little shocked to hear that they plan to hold my partner liable for the rent up to the end of the 6 month period. That probably seems quite reasonable, except that she paid her £180, they readvertised for less than 24 hours and found a new tenant. Can they really take her money, essentially not readvertise the house, yet continue to hold her liable?

Hi everyone..... I have recently got into a dispute with a landlord regarding the return of fees paid for referencing checks. I am about to file a small claims submission, but first I'd appreciate any advice/comments. Basically what happened was put in an offer for a flat that he owns, and we believe he had accepted the offer (see email chain below). However when the tenancy agreement came through it was a higher amount than we agreed. I contacted him and he said he never accepted our offer, and the price is fixed. We therefore decided not to move ahead with going for the flat because what he was asking was too high for the standard of the flat, and we didn't think it was safe to work with someone who acts in this manner. I have tried talking to him about it but he refuses to accept that he should return the fee. I sent him a letter giving him 14 days notice before taking him to court, and he has again written back saying he will not return the fee. He says he never accepted our offer, and the price was on rightmove.co.uk. Here are the emails between my wife and this landlord (I've blanked out names) where we put an offer to him, his response. I can't see however any way in which this can't be seen as acceptance of our offer. We responded to this by negotiating an early release from our current landlord, so we could move in to meet the new landlords timescales. There were no subsequent discussions about the rental amount until I queried the amount showing on the tenancy agreement. EMAIL TRAIL STARTS HERE.... Hi Charles, Thank-you for arranging the viewing today, Graham was lovely and very helpful. We liked the flat and are interested in renting the property from you, the only issue we have is it's slightly over what we had originally planned to spend. Would you be willing to consider £1200 per month please? Thank you, Emily ============================================================================== Hi Emily, Really pleased that you liked the flat and had a good viewing with Graham. Graham said you are a really nice family and would be well suited in the flat and good tenants so I am keen to offer the flat to you. What will help me make my final decision will be when you could take the flat on, do you have an ideal date to move in? I would also ask if you can help give me some more info by filling in the attached document and send back to me. This will also assist with referencing if we go forward. Thanks again and speak soon. Charles

Landlord issued a section 21 today with two month's notice stating I must be out by 20th of April. I always thought two full calendar months were required for notice? Meaning I don't leave until 30th April? The original AST was from the 1st of the month. Also the deposit hasn't been protected so technically the section 21 is void...?

Hello, I am new to the forum having joined today. I'd be so grateful for any advice please. In September 2015, I signed as a guarantor for my son's first year student rental in a shared house. I understood then (as now) that each renter and guarantor were jointly and severally liable for any debt or damage incurred. This agreement was signed by each party on the understanding that there would be six tenants in a shared house. However the sixth tenant never showed up and the letting agency have failed to find a replacement renter. This has meant bills have had to be shared by 5 instead of 6. The letting agency gave a verbal assurance that the 5 renters wouldn't have to pay for the missing tenant and indeed the 5 students have been paying a sixth of the overall rental each month. Now they have received a demand from the letting agency for the missing rent from the no-show renter, backdated from September. When our son queried why they were not chasing this person's guarantor, they said they'd made several efforts to contact the renter and his guarantor, to no avail - so now the other renters and/or their guarantors were liable. Today the letting agency has admitted the missing renter never did sign any contract with them, so he has no responsibility to pay the rent and neither do his guarantors. At no point has the letting agency advised the 5 tenants to recruit a replacement, or warned them of their liabilities for the room not being let. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello folks. I'm hoping for some advice on tenancy agreements please? Sorry for the long read, but I think I need to be as clear as I can. My son is at Uni and he and 9 friends decided they wanted to share a house. Being young and foolish, they all got pressured into signing the tenancy agreement, as they were assured they would lose it if they didn't sign quickly. None of them clearly understood the agreement and all of them required guarantors. I am currently guarantor for my son in his present, single accommodation, absolutely no problems there, but when I read the new tenancy agreement for the proposed new house, I raised numerous concerns and refused to sign as guarantor. Like many such, it is a joint and several tenancy agreement, but how any guarantor would ever sign one of those is a mystery to me. I am perfectly happy to take responsibility for my son's rent and actions, he's a great kid, but I would never agree to take joint responsibility for 9 total strangers. The guarantor agreement also stipulated a joint and several responsibility. I also noticed a number of clauses, in the main tenancy agreement, that caused me concern, and looking at the OFT site, there is a large section there, on this very subject, that seemed to bear that out, if I am understanding correctly? EG. There is a clause that insists (Not advises) that each tenant must take out insurance to cover contents and accidental damage to the property. There is a somewhat hidden clause, by way of a reference to a paragraph in a chapter of the 1988 Housing Act, that, once I'd managed to hunt it down, gives the landlord the right to give 2 months notice to the tenants to quit the property, but there is no such option for the tenants to do the same. There are 2 conflicting access clauses, one that states the tenants are entitled to peace and quiet and to not be disturbed by the landlord, and further down states that the landlord/agents can demand access at any reasonable time of day. There are others that I think are dubious too, but I'm rambling enough as it is, so those are the main ones. It appears to me as if the landlord has added amendments to a standard agreement to suit his needs. None of the other guarantors agreed to sign either, and based on that, all of the tenants decided it was a bad move, and wish to pull out, but they have already signed the agreement and the landlord is trying to force them to fulfill that agreement. I realise that they were foolish to sign the agreement in the first place, and that they should have ensured that they, or someone they could trust, had thoroughly read and understood it first, but are they now stuffed and liable? My thought is that the agreement is unfair and could be challenged if it comes to that, but how many unfair clauses would it take for the contract to be deemed unfair? We have spoken to the landlord to try and come to an amicable agreement, but he is now saying he cannot find anyone who will pay full rent (So much for the queue of potential tenants that forced a quick signature initially!!) and the signed tenants would have to make up the shortfall in the rent from the proposed replacement tenants in order to be released from the agreement. I'm also wondering, if it did go to court, would the students be eligible for legal aid in a civil case, as none of them are employed, but living on their loans. I hope someone can advise, and apologies again for the length of this question. Thanks for reading, those of you who have struggled to the end of this.

Hi all, I have come across a thread on this site (unable to post link to thread as a new user, appears to be thread 359520) which after reading sounds like a very similar situation to my own, so I thought I would post here for some advice on the matter. I have a shorthold tenancy agreement, with a fixed term of 6 months. This started on 28/08/15, so therefore this agreement ends 28/02/16. I have informed the landlord that myself and my friend who share the tenancy will be moving out, and will be vacating the property by 27th February at the latest. 2 days after informing them, the landlord called me and stated that 2 month's notice will be required. Obviously this concerned me, so I thoroughly read, re-read, re-read again and also got 3 other people to read through my contract. The contract does not state anywhere at all that a notice period would be required. Literally all that is stated in my contract with regards to the fixed term is the following: Term - For the term of 6 months commencing on 28/08/15 No mention of notice period, no mention of what will happen at the end of this term. Nothing. (for what its worth, we signed a new agreement following on directly from another friend who had rented this house for 4 years before we moved in. To my eye, the contract just appears to have been typed up in a rush, fitting with the notion that the landlord wanted us signed on and moved in ASAP) This prompted me to get in touch with the Citizens advice bureau, who in turn pointed me in the direction of the tenancy advice team at Shelter. It was shelter who informed me of case law authorities Flower Vs Darby (1786) and and Cobb v Stokes (1807), and explained that if we are simply leaving prior to the end of a fixed term agreement, then no notice would be required. I am going to take my contract in to my local Citizens Advice branch tomorrow, to have another person read through my contract on the off chance that I am missing something, or simply not understanding some of the property/landlord jargon in front of me. Does anyone else have a similar experience of this issue? I just want a bit more advice and backing before I meet with the landlord this coming weekend. Certainly do not want to look an idiot bringing this up with the landlord. Finally, the thread I linked to above has a comment quoting a guideline from The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued Guidance on Unfair Terms in Tenancy Agreements (OFT 356, September 2005). The Guidance states as follows: “3.78 A tenant is not required to give notice to bring the tenancy to an end at the end of the fixed term. That is because a fixed term agreement comes to an end at the end of the fixed term, and no periodic tenancy will arise if the tenant then leaves. We appreciate that landlords will want to ensure that their properties are not left empty between tenancies, but object to terms that impose a contractual obligation on the tenant to give notice in order for the tenancy to be terminated at the end of the fixed term…” Beyond the fact that the landlord has neglected to mention anything about a notice period on the contract, are all UK landlords subject to the guidelines stated by the OFT? Again, any advice here would be helpful. Thanks for reading!

Hi there, I'm having some problems to get the balance of my deposit back, this is £290. I have sent 3 emails to my former landlord and he said that I'm his lodger, I don't have any right and they are not willing to give me anything back. The problem is I'm not his lodger, he didn't live in the property. The landlord is a business of 2 Spanish guys (agency) taking advantage of other foreigners in London. They rent properties through letting agencies and they sublet every inch in the house to people. We were living in London 8 people in a house with one bathroom. As far as I know the owner of the house doesn't know what is happening in her house, but my landlord doesn't want to give me her details nor the letting agency details neither. The agency who rented me the house keeps partly the deposits of other tenants saying that the walls need to be repainted or things like that. My former flatmates had the same problem as me. In my case, they are charging me for a mould which grew in the bedroom due poor insulation, for the cleaning of that mould and for the curtains (which are dirty because of the mould and they were so high I couldn't remove them to wash them up). They are charging me for the walls (were dirty before I moved there, but they didn't do a check-out to the previous tenant and they are charging me for it) and for one night I did not sleep there. This agency are making fraudulent contracts. My contract says "Licence to occupy" and it says "This agreement is not intended to confer exclusive possession upon the licensee, nor it is intended to create the relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties. The Licensee shall not be entitled to an assured tenancy or a statutory periodic tenancy under the Housing Act 1988 or to any other statutory secure of tenure now or upon the determination of the Licence. The Licensee accepts that this Licence does not confer any statutory protection and/or rights that would otherwise be applicable to an assured tenancy or a statutory periodic tenancy under the Housing Act 1988". I contacted Shelter and they said that the agreement is not legal as I was a tenant, not a lodger, as the landlord is an agency and they do not share the property with us. A legal advisor in Shelter told me that I can go to court and make a claim because the agency didn't protect my deposit despite the agreement says. Does anybody know what can I do in this case? This agency does not want to talk to me nor to reply my emails. They took my money unfairly and they are doing the same to other foreigners as people leave the property and they do not know how to claim their money back. So they keep doing the same over and over again. They are taking advantage mainly of Spaniards who come to the UK without knowing how the system works. Is there any way I can report them? If so, where? I don't mind the money, but I want to stop them to do the same to other people. Many thanks.

Hello there, Im reaching out for a little bit of advice. We are going back a little bit, January 2013 to be precise when myself and my partner moved into a small property in Cornwall. We paid a £500 deposit to the landlord who confirmed that the deposit would be refunded on completion of the inspection/hand over of keys etc. Now being fairly young and nieve we weren’t aware of the DPS and just thought that the deposit was managed by the landlord and was up to them to do what they would like, that was until he refused to return our deposit. At the time we did some digging and soon found out about the DPS and that our deposit should have been helpd in a DPS within 30 days, something that they did not do – I had checked with all of the relevant deposit schemes all of whom had no information of a deposit for the property we were renting. As im sure you can appreciate, being young and understanding the legal jargon behind the DPS and being faced with court, we decided that we should just potentially leave it and move on. That said the way we were treated by the landlord has always stuck with us and we feel it’s only right to persue matters now that we are a little more clued up. The agreed duration of our tenancy was 3 months however no contract was provided or signed although we do have email traces where the landlord agrees to our conditions, and have full proof of payment of the deposit. Upon vacating there was further correspondence by email where we asked the landlord for our deposit back but then refused, stipulating that that property was left dirty (something which we dispute) and that was cause along with excessive internet charges (£80) which we were never informed of at the beginning of our tenancy. In short, would I be right in saying that the landlord by LAW regardless of how the property was left, or the duration of our tenancy, should have still placed the deposit in a DPS and that we should in-fact continue to persue matters and refund of our deposit? TIA

Hi all, I rent a flat from a housing association in London. I am in the process of buying a new-build house which will be ready in January 2016, but our tenancy is a 12 month AST which runs until July 2016. We therefore need to leave before the end of our tenancy. The tenancy agreement grants the landlord a break clause but not the tenant. I spoke to the property manager recently and they are unwilling to let us surrender the tenancy early. We're going in person to meet them on Tuesday and I would like us to come to an amicable agreement. I understand that legally speaking, we are liable for rent until the end of the tenancy or until a new tenant is installed in the flat (whichever is sooner). Our AST states that if we purchase a property during the tenancy the landlord will treat it as a breach of tenancy. Furthermore, that we must use this flat as our only or main home. It does not permit us to assign or sublet the flat. It says that the landlord "may" repossess the flat if we break our tenancy agreement in these ways. I'd like to understand what the ramifications of us leaving the tenancy early are. I will argue that if they agree to let us surrender, we will help to re-advertise the flat and find a new tenant, and hence they will have no void period. But if they don't agree, we will probably leave anyway, return the keys and formally abandon the tenancy. At this point, I understand that a landlord should/must take reasonable steps to re-advertise the flat and find a new tenant, and that our liability to pay the rent ceases at the point they do. We would also be liable to pay any reasonable charges they incur - all of which I am happy to do. Another alternative is to sublet the flat in breach of our agreement. I think we could find sub-tenants quite easily but obviously becoming a landlord myself for five months or so introduces another layer of risk to the probable eviction etc.! I'd be very grateful for any advice or experience from you, so that I can come to a good agreement with the landlord over the next few weeks. Many thanks.

Me and my ex have been renting a flat for just over a year, we have a child and have recently split up. When it was clear the relationship couldn't be saved I put in notice to end the tenancy agreement (It's a big expensive place that I didn't want to continue with on my own and she wouldn't be able to afford), she was asked to confirm which she did and we were given a moving out date. She confirmed she had arranged to move in with family with our child until she was able to arrange a place, I know that this is fact as I actually double checked and confirmed everything was in place to ensure both would be sorted when the flat was gone. She's now gone to the council in an attempt to obtain a council house and has been advised by them to not leave the property, even after our agreement has ended and the flat has supposed to be handed back. They'll then sort her a place when she has been evicted. This obviously isn't on. My guess is I can wave goodbye to my deposit if she goes through with this which in the grand scheme of things I'm a bit annoyed about but it isn't the end of the world. I'm more worried about if I could be taken to court for failing to leave the property (although I will have left) or if I could be liable for any rent she may tot up or anything along those lines? Will they take legal costs etc out of the deposit? Could I be blacklisted anywhere? Thank you!

Hi, im sorry this is a rather long story but i really need some legal advice... my husband had a tenancy in his ltd co name with a pub company. when he passed away 2 years ago the pub co regional manager asked if i would continue with the pubs, he had another one at the time with them. Both pubs were struggling and i told them i wasnt sure. They assured me of financial and business support. Obviously they didnt want two closed pubs on their hands and i felt a responsibility to my husband to keep them. i struggled to manage both pubs without my husband and trade suffered due to various different factors. The rent support never happened and they often held me to ransom refusing to release orders without full rent payments. At the time the rents were over £1000 per week on each pub and we were trading at just over £2,000 a week so not hard to work out why struggling. I ended up putting around 50k of my own money in as each week unless i paid the rent on both, i couldnt have any beer and if bought from somewhere else they would fine me then refuse the next weeks order until that was paid!!! They never so much as kncocked a penny off anything, i paid full cost on rent for both pubs for the 15 months it took them to transfer in to my name despite having my name on nothing. they lied to me about what rent deal they would do on the new lease and also refused to give me proper credit terms etc. as a result and having at their insistance put a brand new deposit down on what was already my pub my cash flow took a battering and im now on the brink of closing altogether. various people i have spoken to have told me that they should not have let me trade for the 15 months it took to transfer then pub into my name as the tenancy was in my husbands ltd company name which legally shouldnt have traded after he died since he was the sole director And my name was not on anything. Is this true and if so can i do anything about it now? thanks...S

Hi everyone could do with some help on whether this contract i have signed stupidly is legal, Basically i have been employed as a caretaker for over five years to look after a large building and its grounds and i am responsible for all maintenance issues gardening and security of the building ect seven days a week 365 days, i sighned a tenancy agreement and on it where deposit is mentioned it says see special letting terms which states " the landlord agrees that during the terms of the tenancy that the tenant will not pay rent whilst the tenant is acting on a caretaker basis, the duties of the caretaker are shown on Appendix 1 attached " , on this appendix are my duties listed as previously mentioned basically anything and everything , now there are no hours mentioned or holiday entitlement and no hourly wages in fact i do not get paid , i have been in touch with acas and hmrc and they say i should be getting paid and a rent deducted from my wage . What i want to know is the agreement i have sighned is it legal ?

My partner has a problem with a tenant. The tenant was taken to Court because of non payment of rent for many months and left just before the bailiffs were due. As the tenant owes something like £6550 in rent plus Court fees and legal fees it would seem equitable that their deposit is used to offset their debt. However the TDS service doesn't seem to look at things this way. I understand that the deposit was originally paid in by the tenant but they surely have foregone any claim to it now since the debt is so large and the £2000 deposit would go some way to reduce the debt. My partner is not chasing for the balance but would be enormously p***ed off should the deposit be repaid to the tenant. The TDS appear to be Judge and jury stating that their decision is final and non contestable. No decision has been made by them so far but reading what other landlords have said, it is by no means certain that the deposit will be used to offset the debt. Can anyone offer any advice as to the best way to deal with the TDS please.

Hi - my daughter completed her degree this summer and left her rented accommodation at the end of June. She forgot to cancel the standing order from her bank account to the letting agents and so a payment of £912 was paid to them at the end of September. The rent was paid quarterly and I think the summer one didn't get paid as she had no money in her account. She had just received her first month's salary which meant there was sufficient funds for the standing order to be paid this time. She called the letting agents as soon as she realised what had happened and they said they would send her a cheque less £10 admin fee. The cheque didn't arrive, so she called them again and was told the cheque was in the post and that is should arrive within the next day or two. It didn't arrive so she called again yesterday, and was told it would be put in the post and should arrive today, but it still hasn't. Could somebody advise as to the best course of action please? Thank you!!

Hello, I'm disabled and live with my mum, mum has dementia and is currently in a nursing home for a while. Now I have asked the council (Havering) about staying when mum goes, my dad died in 1969 and I'm not sure whether he was the tenant and mum succeeded him or it was a joint tenancy or even if mum was the tenant, when dad died we where under a different council (Tower Hamlets). Now I don't know where I stand and it's very worrying. It is a 2 bedroom maisonette but as I am on dialysis I was hoping that I could have dialysis at home in the 2nd bedroom, along with the dialysis I have also had a triple heart bypass with causes low BP which makes me dizzy and unstable, on crutches. There are other problems which I can expand on if necessary. Thanks

I am trying to find out more information about the following: Can a single person with no dependents who is a tenant and the rest of their family no longer live in the property, can they still occupy a three bedroom council home?