Advice on Resi Tenancy Surrender
Discussion
Hi - was wondering if I could pick the legal brains here.
We rented an interim place in London for the past year (1 year AST) while looking for somewhere to buy.
We completed our purchase in early December - the tenancy agreement runs until the second week of Feb 2021.
When we exchanged on the property in December I emailed our landlord to say that we would not be renewing, and that we expected to vacate the property by early Jan. There was no discussion of a formal surrender - in retrospect I should have made a proposal at that time. My intention was to give the LL lots of notice to get viewings done to minimise any vacancy period.
Since we vacated in early Jan I have been dropping in on the rental property every week or two to check that everything is in order. We also had it cleaned shortly after vacating. When I went round this Saturday (23rd Jan) I was a little surprised to see lots of empty Amazon boxes piled in the front garden. My first thought was that someone had dumped a load of rubbish, that I would have to clear up, but on taking a closer look I could see that they were addressed to someone living at the property (not the LL).
It transpires that the LL has moved in a new tenant. We have not been asked for our keys back and the deposit has not been returned. Am I right to think that this is a little sharp from the LL - do I have a claim for the rent for the last three weeks of the tenancy, which I paid in advance at the beginning of Jan? The amount at stake is c. £1,500 excluding the deposit.
We rented an interim place in London for the past year (1 year AST) while looking for somewhere to buy.
We completed our purchase in early December - the tenancy agreement runs until the second week of Feb 2021.
When we exchanged on the property in December I emailed our landlord to say that we would not be renewing, and that we expected to vacate the property by early Jan. There was no discussion of a formal surrender - in retrospect I should have made a proposal at that time. My intention was to give the LL lots of notice to get viewings done to minimise any vacancy period.
Since we vacated in early Jan I have been dropping in on the rental property every week or two to check that everything is in order. We also had it cleaned shortly after vacating. When I went round this Saturday (23rd Jan) I was a little surprised to see lots of empty Amazon boxes piled in the front garden. My first thought was that someone had dumped a load of rubbish, that I would have to clear up, but on taking a closer look I could see that they were addressed to someone living at the property (not the LL).
It transpires that the LL has moved in a new tenant. We have not been asked for our keys back and the deposit has not been returned. Am I right to think that this is a little sharp from the LL - do I have a claim for the rent for the last three weeks of the tenancy, which I paid in advance at the beginning of Jan? The amount at stake is c. £1,500 excluding the deposit.
Interesting situation. If you have a valid AST and haven't surrendered it then you have the right to live there. The landlord shouldn't have let it to anyone else even if you didn't intend to stay beyond the end of the fixed term.
You need to contact the landlord and find out what's going on. Until you have an explanation from him then there isn't much more that anyone else can say. In the meantime, take photos of what you see (Amazon boxes etc) and make notes of the date and time you went over there.
(An aside but lots of Amazon boxes in the garden? Sounds odd in itself - surely they would be at risk of getting nicked?)
You need to contact the landlord and find out what's going on. Until you have an explanation from him then there isn't much more that anyone else can say. In the meantime, take photos of what you see (Amazon boxes etc) and make notes of the date and time you went over there.
(An aside but lots of Amazon boxes in the garden? Sounds odd in itself - surely they would be at risk of getting nicked?)
If you wanted to be difficult then you could go into the house and make yourself at home. There is no reason for you not to do so.
And if he has changed the locks then call an emergency locksmith to let you in.
(I don't suggest that you should do either of the above. They are said purely to illustrate the point!
)
And if he has changed the locks then call an emergency locksmith to let you in.
(I don't suggest that you should do either of the above. They are said purely to illustrate the point!
) 2Btoo said:
If you wanted to be difficult then you could go into the house and make yourself at home. There is no reason for you not to do so.
And if he has changed the locks then call an emergency locksmith to let you in.
(I don't suggest that you should do either of the above. They are said purely to illustrate the point! )
That's exactly what someone I know done.And if he has changed the locks then call an emergency locksmith to let you in.
(I don't suggest that you should do either of the above. They are said purely to illustrate the point!
) Similar story, bought with 7 weeks still to go. LL wouldn't allow a surrender.
He moved out and had no reason to return to house until a friend and neighbour commented about the new people.... at the point he still had 3 weeks to go on tenancy! He called LL up but didn't let on he knew a new tenant was already in and was told again no refund on rent and to wait for deposit.
He nipped round and changed the locks. Went over to mates house and waited for the call.
90 minutes later the call came
LL wanted to know if he had been and then he admitted he had, and had changed the locks. He was after a refund of rent from when new tenants moved in and full deposit. Once received he'd nip back and change the locks back. All sorted within the hourChrisgr31 said:
Definitely! The landlord should not have relet it without agreeing a surrender with you.
Therefore I would be seeking a refund of the deposit in full, and the rent paid from the date of the grant of the lease to the new tenant.
This is what I would do. Therefore I would be seeking a refund of the deposit in full, and the rent paid from the date of the grant of the lease to the new tenant.
The landlord has been very naughty here, although your initial letter to him or her could have been more clearly worded as it could be interpreted to have been an early surrender of the AST agreement.
NickCQ said:
2Btoo said:
If you wanted to be difficult then you could go into the house and make yourself at home. There is no reason for you not to do so.
I think the new tenants living there with a small child might have an issue with that!Blame the new T for any damage anyway & get the deposit back
Very bad form of the landlord not to first speak to the tenant/OP, before possibly allowing a potential new tenant either access, and/or a new tenancy agreement with the former.
Like other landlords, I have found myself in a similar situation to that of the OP's landlord. Even when a landlord is desperate to gain access to the property, redecorating, repairs and/or viewings etc., understanding and written agreement between landlord and tenant should always be sought.
However in mitigation for the landlord, surrender of a contract/tenancy agreement can be by operation of law, the same does not have to be by written agreement. The same can be by some act which is inconsistent with the continuation of the/a tenancy. It could therefore possibly be argued that the OP removing all of the furniture and effects from the property, was crucial in the OP's landlord unequivocally accepting that the OP/tenant's tenancy had ended.
Also most tenancy agreements also have a clause within the same, which states that the tenant should not leave the property vacate for more than 28 days etc., this again might support the OP's landlord believing the OP had surrender the tenancy by operation of law.
The OP might also want to review the situation with Council Tax.
Like other landlords, I have found myself in a similar situation to that of the OP's landlord. Even when a landlord is desperate to gain access to the property, redecorating, repairs and/or viewings etc., understanding and written agreement between landlord and tenant should always be sought.
However in mitigation for the landlord, surrender of a contract/tenancy agreement can be by operation of law, the same does not have to be by written agreement. The same can be by some act which is inconsistent with the continuation of the/a tenancy. It could therefore possibly be argued that the OP removing all of the furniture and effects from the property, was crucial in the OP's landlord unequivocally accepting that the OP/tenant's tenancy had ended.
Also most tenancy agreements also have a clause within the same, which states that the tenant should not leave the property vacate for more than 28 days etc., this again might support the OP's landlord believing the OP had surrender the tenancy by operation of law.
The OP might also want to review the situation with Council Tax.
Thanks for the fulsome reply Wings, you touched on a lot of the points I am trying to understand better.
Wings said:
However in mitigation for the landlord, surrender of a contract/tenancy agreement can be by operation of law, the same does not have to be by written agreement. The same can be by some act which is inconsistent with the continuation of the/a tenancy. It could therefore possibly be argued that the OP removing all of the furniture and effects from the property, was crucial in the OP's landlord unequivocally accepting that the OP/tenant's tenancy had ended.
Yep - the 'implied surrender' is what I am worried about. Whilst we removed our stuff, we did continue to pay rent in accordance with the agreed schedule and we kept the keys (no request was made to return them).Wings said:
Also most tenancy agreements also have a clause within the same, which states that the tenant should not leave the property vacate for more than 28 days etc., this again might support the OP's landlord believing the OP had surrender the tenancy by operation of law.
I am less worried about this - as I mentioned in the original post the only reason I found out about the new tenant was because I had returned to the property to make a routine check (with my obligation under the AST not to leave the property vacant in mind).Wings said:
The OP might also want to review the situation with Council Tax.
We moved within the same Council Tax area. When we moved out I submitted the end of the tenancy agreement (8 Feb) as the move-out date as I was under the impression that my liability for Council Tax ran until the end of the tenancy agreement (whether I was living there or not).Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff