breaking rental lease UK

[aussierenter]

Hi .. I am a concerned father looking for some guidance regarding rental leases in Uk. my daughter recently moved from sydney to london and took out a rental lease for a flat in an area that seems ok(ish) . The lease is for a privately owned flat in a block that is partly privately owned and part council. when they moved into the flat they knew that some rennovations were being carried out to the building, they were told that the impact to them would be minimal and the rent would be slightly reduced during that period. what they didn't know (and the landlord did ) was that all of the council tennants have been relocated out of the building leaving the building more than 50%empty...infact the building is almost 80% empty . they are now not happy and feeling very insecure in the building. had they know that this would be the case then this would have been material to them making the decision and not going into the contract . they now actually want to break the contract but landlord is saying they have to stay there until another tennant is found . the likelyhood of finding another tennant is minimal as building works start in april. is there grounds to simply walk away ... or any suggestions / guidance from anyone ...please .many thanks .

[stu007]

Hi aussierenter

 

A warm welcome to CAG, I am going to move your thread to our Residential and Commercial Lettings area leaving a short redirect.

 

It administrative only so nothing for you to do.

 

Please be patient I am sure the caggers will be along to advise you.

 

1. What type of Tenancy Agreement do they have?

 

2. How long is the Tenancy for?

 

3. What date did the Tenancy commence?

 

4. Are there any clauses in the Tenancy Agreement about Early Termination?

 

5. Did they pay a Deposit? (if so has it been protected in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme?)

 

https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview

 

https://www.gov.uk/private-renting

Edited February 16, 2014 by stu007

[WarrenBuffet]

I personally would be asking why relocation was not offered?

To justify breaking the contract what are the properties current condition? Is there a health and safety issue? Is health and safety a reason for the 80% relocation?

 

I would also say that a £50 solicitor visit and letter to landlord might soothe the exit strategy and get full refund of deposit.

[Steve__M]

First thing is to check the contract to see when the fixed term ends, and whether there are any break clauses that would allow early exit.

 

Check what the LL obligations are in the contract, and whether they are being met.

 

Check whether tenant is allowed to sublet or reassign the lease.

 

It's not completely obvious why an 80% occupancy is an issue. Are there issues that council could help resolve, such as better lighting or more secure entries?