Housing Lease Question??

S

simont123

Vital Squad Member
Alright guys, I just want to tap into your vast knowledge :14:

Anyone familiar with tenancy agreements? I'll try to keep this simple

My previous lease ran out on the 1st August 2014, I then asked to extend it until 31st March 2015. This was agreed, BUT NO ACTUAL LEASE SIGNED BY ANY PARTY. Just a letter from the letting agency saying the extension carries on "under the same terms and conditions of your previous lease"

The previous terms of the official lease states that i am liable to pay the rent in full until expiry or find a replacement tenant (I pay this finders fee of 7%) if I want to surrender he lease early.

I then told the landlady (on the 1st Dec) I wanted to move out on the 1st Jan (1 months notice). She has said I must pay all of the rent up until the extension ends or she will keep my deposit and start legal proceedings to recover any the rent.

I've took this 'threat' as gospel so have bit my lip and paid the rent up until the 1st March.

A few people have said that because no official lease was signed, I automatically revert to a rolling lease, which only has a 1 month notice period. In theory it's the landlady that actually owes me 2.5 months rent and she is the one in the wrong !?!?

I'm a bit reluctant to drop the 'rolling tenancy' bombshell without being certain I can claim the rent and deposit back. I'd also like to avoid legal proceedings.

What do you reckon ??

Thanks guys
 
edit, just re read. I have no idea but I'd guess that you are still bound by the terms of the first agreement.
 
Nope, original lease said I must pay until the end of the contract...or find a replacement tenant.

But this extension letter is hardly legally binding if not signed by myself or the landlady ??

This is kind of our of spite now, we have lived there 5 years, been great tenants...she was fine until I said I wanted to move out. The started with the legal bullcrap

 
I would say that as you reverted to the existing terms that you would need to pay the money as yoy did. By paying the rent from the end of the original lease you are affectively agreeing to the terms and conditions of it.
 
Verbal agreement with the landlady....she spoke to the letting agency....letting agency sent me a letter to confirm the extension, only signed by themselves.

I've asked the letting agency for a copy of my current signed lease (3 times now) they wont send it to me...because there isn't one

I'm sort of clutching at straws here, but for 2 months rent it's surely worth chasing up?
 
Should be a termination clause.

We some that I've done contract wise (not lease of houses but same theory) is X months (whatever the term), then you can give notice to cease at the end of that term OR it then rolls over to

a) another set term (I don't sign contracts with this term in)

b) rolling with a 3 month notice by either party.

Are you saying the initial lease was never signed? I think you'll find after 5 years of following the lease, signed or not, it will be implied because you've followed the contract.

I might be misunderstanding what you are asking though?
 
simont123 - 18/2/2015 16:10


My previous lease ran out on the 1st August 2014, I then asked to extend it until 31st March 2015. This was agreed, BUT NO ACTUAL LEASE SIGNED BY ANY PARTY. Just a letter from the letting agency saying the extension carries on "under the same terms and conditions of your previous lease"
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Sorry, re-looked.

You dictated the term. It appears they accepted. So they are right to want the money paid up to the end of the term that you wanted the lease to be.

If in the meantime you had found someone to take your place, quite rightly they'd have waived your need to pay the time you weren't in the house.
 
My eldest son had a similar problem last year when they moved property with rolling contracts and various. Use this site and contact them to find out where you stand.

http://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/
 
Yes, it sounds to me like you have an agreement, asked for an extention and it's been agreed. Not much else to say, you have the confirmation of the extention in writing and did not query it at the time.

They can only keep the deposit to the value of the rent plus any damages to the property.

 
Just had this from my lawyer

"my immediate advice is to go back and say that as there was no new signed lease your lease reverted to a ‘rolling tenancy’ on the terms of the existing lease. Under a rolling tenancy you give notice for the same period as you pay rent so if you pay monthly rental then you only need to give a month’s notice effective on your rental payment date"

This is all the lawyer will do for free...and I really don't know if I should risk pissing them off if I cant win !
 
when did you agree til the end of March and were there any witnesses or anything written down?

You admit as above you had at the very least a verbal contract and it looks like they have stuck by their side of that deal?
 
The Fear - 18/2/2015 16:58

when did you agree til the end of March and were there any witnesses or anything written down?

You admit as above you had at the very least a verbal contract and it looks like they have stuck by their side of that deal?
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Yeah its a tough one, but if im not legally entitled to pay 3 months rent (just under 5000) then surely id be fool not to ask for it back?
 
There is a little matter called personal integrity too. Personally I see the value of that as greater than the money but that's your call. 5000 for 3 months, how big was tbis place?
 
Just a normal 3 bedroom house (Im from Jersey, so rent is HUGELY inflated)

We had been there 4.5 years so have paid her close to 90k !!!

I just kind of expected her to have some 'personal dignity' and cut us some slack. I know I would if the roles were reversed. It's not like she's actually losing out money, just losing out on extra income....She is 65, no kids, no family.....just millions of pounds accruing in the bank account., what's the point ? You cant take it with you

it's got personal now LOL
 
simon dude feck em, just pay what you lived there up until, you made them aware and they did not sort out you the paperwork and then demanded you fulfil a contract you said you wouldn't be there to fulfil,,,,,let em take it to court i bet they will back away from it cos you have a case mar mate, they am ripping you off and your record of always paying will see you alright ;)
 
Thing is, it isn't particularly personal from her point of view, it is a straight business transaction and a contract.

You asked terms, she agreed, you want her to forget them... she'd be thinking ... why?

People who are worth millions quite often are hard faced, it's the rest of us who are maybe 'nicer' but then, we aren't worth millions!

I am the same sort, I'd think feck it, can't be doing with legal this that and the other. I ripped up an agreement, with my business partners agreement obv - with someone who committed a fair % of their business to get in bed with us. He was committed, legally we could have made him, but life for me is too short.

He'd have done well to stick with the deal made though, he went bust, with us he'd be making decent money.

I digress.

Personally if I'd agreed to those terms, I'd pay.


But again... when did you ask those terms, were there any witnesses, obviously a verbal contract is still a contract, but the onus would be - I guess - on her to prove it.

I'd pay, don't let them put anyone else in the house even if you are fully out of there until the term is over and just move on.

As said mate, hard to swallow maybe, but those are the terms you asked for.
 
Look at it another way, if you had wanted to stay until the end of March and she tried to kick you out on a months notice would you have accepted that as you hadn't signed a contract?

Her personal circumstances are utterly irrelevant, you had an agreement and you should honour it just as you would've expected her to.
 
Are you sure the agency didn't sign on your behalf?

As a landlord and a tenant myself, in both scenarios when an extension has agreed I've always been asked "Do you want us to send you a copy of the extension to sign or shall we just sign on your behalf?"

I always agree for them to sign on my behalf.

I'm guessing they have signed on your behalf after you verbally told them to extend until March 31st.

You may have a case if you claim you did not agree to them doing that, but then trying to prove it (especially as you admit you did verbally agree to the extension) will be difficult.
 
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