Landlord breaking AST agreement

[o0robbie0o]

hi, i need some urgent advice. I was due to let my flat this friday, signed the agreement, ready to move in with my partner. we have now split and i've been told by the estate agents i cannot back out. This will leave my homeless for the short term. Does anyone know what i can do about this? I know ill be inconveniencing the new tenants but there is really nothing i can do.

[Beatrice Bee]

You can not back out but the agency / tenants must have paid you one month rent, one month deposit to move in, which allows you to rent something immediately, rather than stay in a B&B.

 

Spareroom.co.uk, Gumtree.com, Easyroommate.com: it is possible to find LLs who do not take as much money as above but a smaller deposit and 1-2 weeks rent in advance.

 

Lodgers can be evicted without a court order so safer to rent a place where there is no live-in LL.

 

Have you tried offering agency / LL some grievance money to accept you backing out? £200-500 may convince them if it is worth for you to stay in your own flat rather than rent.

[Beatrice Bee]

"This will leave my homeless for the short term." A word seems to be missing. You mean your tenants? Your tenants got a place to live in from Friday onwards as you and tenants signed the agreement and they paid the rent. You need a possession order to get it back or they can surrender the tenancy. As long as they pay the rent, there can be no possession order during the fix term of the tenancy. They have to be at least 2 months late with the rent for you to get a possession order during the fix term.

 

So unless they are happy to back out on their own account, which they do not have to by law, you are the one who is threatened with homelessness for a few days until sorting a place where you can live.

 

Your flat is the tenants' property Friday onwards. The agency knows tenants rights better than the tenants and enforcing it that you leave and they move in is possible. I would not want police or an injunction order against me so you need to take professional legal advice from experienced housing advisers rather than post here where you may or may not get such advice.

 

This website helped me a lot but when it comes to having nowhere to live in 3 days time, you need to make sure you know your rights because the estate agents know the tenants rights for sure.

 

Contract law I don't know much about but when my LL locked me out I got an injunction within a couple of days to get back in within a few days. I did. So since it is your tenants' property from Friday onwards, the courts will uphold that you allow them possession. Illegal eviction is a criminal offence so what is "not letting your tenants enter their own home Friday onwards"? Criminal conviction will stick and will be on CRB for at least 5 years. You say you will be "inconvenincing your tenants"- it is a lot worse than that.

[Mally73]

From my own point of view as a Private Tenant if I knew your situation & you offered some form of sweetener (especially enough to cover application fees I'd paid out) Id probably let you back out.

 

I think in many many cases private tenants want somewhere longer than 6 months and if your current situation persists (ie its early days yet with your partner / ex) but if it remains that way chances are you'd be looking to give notice after initial term. So 6 months to me wouldn't be worth the removal costs.

 

All I'm trying to say is its definitely worth a try with the new tenants.

 

Good Luck