Landlord Pulled Out Last Minute

[iwantmyleaseback...]

Basically I signed (with a friend) a lease for a 2 bed property in London through a well known letting agent.

 

The Landlord had agreed etc, I paid a £500 deposit, had references checked from my current landlord and employer.

 

Everything was approved, then we ring up today to ask about signing the real contract and were told the landlord was pulling out because apparently he/she found damp and is selling the property. (My guess is he/she found someone willing to pay higher outside of the letting agent), can't know for sure.

 

This obviously leaves me and my friend in a sticky situation because we have both given our notice in that we are leaving our current property. We were due to move in around 2 weeks time. The landlord has no reason to believe we won't pay/will be bad tenants, the property had 5 offers (in one day) and he/she chose us.

 

Any legal recourse here? Temporary accommodation/landlord or letting agent has to provide a similar property at the rate agreed etc? To say I'm frustrated is an understatement.....we spend around 3 months looking for the place we signed for.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[iwantmyleaseback...]

I should add the £500 will be refunded. I'm more concerned about not having somewhere to live....

[raydetinu]

You say you signed a lease, then you were going to sign a the real contract, please explain?

You would have a claim if you agreed a contract, it does not have to be signed by LL.

Was it an AST?

Yes you can claim any out of pocket expenses, temporary accommodation etc.

[mariner51]

Prob signed LA application form?

[raydetinu]

agree, probably just a holding deposit, subject to approvals etc.

[taziz2]

Hi, something similar happened to my wife and I today and I could do with some advice.

 

- We agreed rental of a flat in London with a lettings agent (about 3 weeks ago).

- We agreed a provisional move in date, which is this Saturday 24th October

- We then paid the reservation fee and undertook references.

- My wife and I both passed references and received an email from the agent saying we had passed references and he sent us a completed AST (with the landlords details on, move in date etc) for us to sign and asked us to contact him to arrange a check in time for Saturday

- I called him today to ask if there was any possibility that we could move in one week later (this was due to some issues we were having with the checkout date at our current flat). I at no point said that this was a dealbreaker, just that I would appreciate it if he could run it past the landlord as it would help us a lot. The agent was quite confident that the LL would not agree to the change, however said he would ask.

- Late this afternoon I received a call from the agent, saying that he had bad news. He said that the LL was very much put off letting to us now and would not be proceeding with the let to us! (all because I asked a question!).

- I then checked Right Move and the flat had just been relisted with a price reduction!

 

This has obviously left us in a terrible position now where we have given our notice at our current flat (and tenants are scheduled to move in) and we have made arrangements to move this weekend. We now need to run around frantically to try and find another place quickly! Which is very difficult for us anyway, as we are both very busy professionals and it has been extremely difficult for us to do viewings.

 

The whole relisting situation is just ridiculous and I do think the agent has done a terrible job in liaising between both parties over this. The property had been empty for over two months and now that it is relisted, it means a longer period of no rent for the LL. Even if I am saying this myself, my wife and I have always been excellent tenants - both professionals, extremely clean etc who can comfortably afford the rent. As a landlord myself, I find it crazy how someone would take so much offence at a simple question, which could be answered simply with a 'No - take it as agreed or leave it'!

 

I would like to know if it is OK for the landlord to just pull out of an agreement at such late notice, for no reasonable reason? Are we entitled to claim any damages from the landlord or agent? Does anyone have any advice on this?

 

 

Thanks

Edited October 20, 2015 by taziz2

[mariner51]

Equally the LL may have a claim against you for 1 month rent + re-advertsing/admin costs for breaching the contract to supply/occupy on dates agreed. A T is not required to attend a move out inspection and most do not.

I can understand LLs concern about a new T asking to delay move in toa later date after the AST had been prepared.

Would he have reacted the same way if you had been prepared to pay rent from Sat but just move in a bit later?

Since the property is being advertised at a lower price, he is not price gouging, just looking for a quick rent.

I am a LL and my reaction was the same as his before I read the punch line.

Good luck with you renewewed search.

[taziz2]

Thanks Mariner.

 

Some comments based on what you have said:

 

- You seriously feel the LL could claim a months rent from me, despite me JUST ASKING REGARDING THE POSSIBILITY of moving in a week later? I would have been fine about moving in on the 24th if a week later was no good for the LL

- No had i agreed to pay rent from Saturday and move in later, I am pretty certain this wouldnt have been an issue

- If he is looking for a quick rent, then why not just complete the transaction with us? Even a week later is not as long as finding a new tenant, referencing etc would likely take. Thats if they agreed to the week, like i said I just asked the question. BTW the 'reduced rent' is £10 higher than what was agreed with us, and £10 lower than what it was advertised at initially (it is a £1600 PCM flat, so this amount is negligible)

 

I am a LL too and have been involved in lettings for many years. With this experience in mind, I feel even more strongly that the LL reaction is wholly unreasonable and the agents inability to conclude this 'sale' is a very poor reflection on his ability. I have tenants in the past ask me for rent reductions, changes move in dates, provide alternative furniture etc etc...and i feel my action, in hearing them out and then responding with a yes or no, is the response of a reasonable person.

[king12345]

Unfortunately until a full ast has been completed all parties can pull out at any time for any reason they want.

It's the nature of rental market.

[taziz2]

Thanks King.

 

Is this an opinion or actually based on law? (I am not questioning your expertise, just want to get the best understanding of my options)

[king12345]

It's subject to contract general rules.

Until the contract is finalised all parties can pull out.

Most times on a pre contract agreement (like leaving a deposit for a car or a house) there are terms attached to it.

In particular a deposit (or part of it) is forfeited should the buyer pull out.

Read the piece of paper that you got when you paid your deposit and look for LL penalties in case of not finalising the contract.

I would be very surprised if there's any.

[mariner51]

#king12345, not strictly true as it is generally accepted, once a tenancy has been agreed in principle by both Parties, (evidenced by draft AST sent &b received) this creates an unwritten Contract to Supply/Occupy. The withdrawing Party has to mitigate their loss and search for alt accom/new T without delay.

In this case, OP failed to occupy on appointed day without explaining his reason; equally LL may have decided not to accept demanding T and to re-advertise the property. Either could sue the other for limited compensation but the outcome is uncertain in this case IMO.

[king12345]

#king12345, not strictly true as it is generally accepted, once a tenancy has been agreed in principle by both Parties, (evidenced by draft AST sent &b received) this creates an unwritten Contract to Supply/Occupy. The withdrawing Party has to mitigate their loss and search for alt accom/new T without delay.

In this case, OP failed to occupy on appointed day without explaining his reason; equally LL may have decided not to accept demanding T and to re-advertise the property. Either could sue the other for limited compensation but the outcome is uncertain in this case IMO.

 

In this case i don't think the op would have any chance of winning in court.

The LL, backed by the estate agent, will say that the op tried to delay the move in date (even if not true, but that's what they understood).

Evidence of being in the losing seat is that the LL had to re-advertise the property and lose more rent.

IMO the LL actions don't make any sense and I feel to speculate that the estate agent messed this up.