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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to say no to my tenant

37 replies

Tweennightmare · 09/02/2019 15:24

We are landlords who rented our house out on a fixed one year contract with no break clauses. They are now. 4 months into that contract . The tenants rang us last night and said they have found somewhere to buy and would like to break the contract 4 months early in May. They have agreed to pay any charges and do viewings to get other tenants in. Ordinarily we would be fine with this however our life is quite complicated at the moment and we potentially may have our eldest who is finishing uni this year bouncing back to us. If this happens we would probably move back to the rented house so would not want to re rent the house . However any move would not take place before August earliest as he is away until then and we were originally working on just squashing in in our present house until the contract finishes in October if need be. so as a result we could potentially be missing out on 2/3 months of rent as the house would be empty from May. Would I be unreasonable to say the tenants can’t break the contract until the end of July (this would still be 2 months earlier than contract) which would suit our timeline. Obviously in the meanwhile if things change and it looks like we will be re renting the house ( ie DS gets a job somewhere else) we could then return to the May deadline wanted by the tenant

OP posts:

Yabbers · 09/02/2019 15:58

If I could afford it I’d let them go. If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t.

TonTonMacoute · 09/02/2019 15:59

It sounds like a good compromise. Go back and offer a July break and see what they say.

They might accept, problem solved all round.

Original poster

Tweennightmare · 09/02/2019 15:59

Thanks everyone for replying I think you may have convinced me to agree to the tenants request . You are right the May date may over run in which case it could be a win win situation

OP posts:

mummmy2017 · 09/02/2019 16:00

Mum took ages to get the sale sorted. ...
16 to 21 weeks can be the norm...
So that means they may find they need to stay in your house till all sorted, if there is a chain, more delay ...
You have time to save up too cover the missing months, also do you really want a short term let .

Be nice to them and see what happens, bet it all works out

Tinkobell · 09/02/2019 16:06

You sound like a very reasonable landlord OP, July is a very fair compromise to suggest. Most landlords, especially those using a management agency, would tell the tenants to stick to the contract to the letter or risk forfeiting their deposit. Do you have a deposit? Normally it's 2/3 months isn't it, held with a tenancy deposit scheme?

HeckyPeck · 09/02/2019 16:07

It sounds like a good compromise. Go back and offer a July break and see what they say.

Agreed.

Pps have said the tenants could just move out and not pay, but most people wouldn’t want a CCJ etc against them!

If I was the tenant I’d accept the July as a compromise and be pleased as you don’t have to agree to any break at all.

grumiosmum · 09/02/2019 16:19

Air BnB if there's a shortfall in the time.

butteryellow · 09/02/2019 16:34

The only reason you've got complications with this is your own situation OP - so I can see why it's a pain, because just so much is up in the air.

I'd let them out when they ask, and just keep communicating frequently so you can make further choices once more is known - especially as in my experience, house sales always slip (we ended up living with MIL for 6 weeks when our apparently easy purchase took unexpectedly long!)..

Plus as others say, short term rentals are pretty in demand too (although that depends if it's furnished I suppose) I'm on a 3 month AirBnB let at the moment myself - while we figure out where we want to live permanently ....

Bombardier25966 · 09/02/2019 16:43

If you took them to court you would have to demonstrate that you mitigated your situation by reletting the property. The court will not care that you might want to move in at a later date. Failure to mitigate would result in a reduction in any award, so you wouldn't be any better off than agreeing to them leaving and paying the costs of reletting.

BejamNostalgia · 09/02/2019 16:48

To be honest, if you say no they’ll probably just break the lease and not pay and it would be expensive and with no guarantee of success to pursue them for it.

I also thInk it’s a bit dodgy for you to insist they stay until the end of the lease when your intention at the end of the lease is to kick them out.

BejamNostalgia · 09/02/2019 16:49

Why don’t you let it as an Airbnb on short leases for a few months?

mathanxiety · 09/02/2019 16:55

I would let them break the contract in May. What they are offering in terms of paying charges and allowing viewings is perfectly reasonable from a legal pov. Your personal situation with a son who might (or might not) bounce back after university necessitating you all moving back in October is not really their problem and your hesitation to do a short term let isn't their problem either.

Your compromise potentially imposes a financial shortfall on them. Also, they can easily just leave and stop paying rent. They won't be in arrears enough to take action against them by the time they leave and you still hold their deposit..

I think you are wise to be leaning toward the May relet and finding somewhere else for DS.

(As an aside, it might make for a more comfortable family situation if DS gets a place of his own and can be asked to contribute to the rent. Easier than getting rent out of a DS who lives at home - and it is not wise to let an adult child stay at home rent free).

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