To end our tenancy agreement early?

[jonesyyy]

We have 3 months remaining on our tenancy agreement but we have found a lovely property closer to family that we want to go for.

What are the implications of ending a tenancy agreement earlier? Is this even possible?

You can be sued for the remainder of the contract...

Only you have the contract. I would suspect that legally you can’t leave early if it is a fixed term contract. You are responsible for all bills (council tax etc) until the end of the tenancy.

However, some letting agents or landlords will let you leave early if you pay for all the costs associated with relisting the property and getting new tenants in. In this instance you will be released from the tenancy from the day the new tenants start.

@NinetySixer Thank you. You say we are liable for all bills to the end of our tenancy agreement but things like our council tax, water etc run from April-April, and our tenancy ends in October.

What would happen with those as we are going to move before then?

What would happen with those as we are going to move before then The landlord and agent may not look for another tenant until closer to the end of yours. Getting summer over and done with would be a good idea for them. The landlord just has to say no, they won't release you early.

So you would remain liable for them, they would be closed at Check Out, the original end of tenancy date. COuncil tax etc would get a rebate when you send the the end date and the agent/landlord agrees - do not do anything daft with that, like tell the council now, you could cause all sorts of weird issues!

How long was the tenancy? If 6 months you aremore likely rto be left with it. If longer there may be a break clause, though you may have missed it! It is worth checking.

Your first step is to ask the agent /landlord. See what they say.

@CuriousaboutSamphire thanks for your reply! Our tenancy is 12 months long

Anyone else been in this situation?

12 Months. Then you would / could have had a break clause at 6 months, you may find the agent/landlord more amenable!

I work in residential lettings

If they don't agree to end it early you'll have to pay rent till the end of the 12 months.

You would be liable to pay the remaining rent up until the end of your tenancy.
My best advice:

1. Consider that if you buy the house you want it will be some weeks until you move in - probably at least 6 - so pay the remainder.
2. String out the move and be clear that you need 3 months

I ended my tenancy early last year. My letting agent had to ask my landlords for their permission, they were happy for me to do so. I had to pay around £300 to end it early, if I remember rightly (taken from deposit). If they hadn't found a new tenant then I would have been liable for rent etc until such time as they did. As it turns out a new tenant moved in 3 or 4 days after I moved out. It was all quite straightforward really.

Look at you lease. Usually there is a break clause after six months, in which you can give a months notice to quit. If there isn’t a break clause ask your landlord agent. I’m a landlord and would probably be amenable to breaking a lease early.

Thanks all, I've looked at our lease and doesn't mention anything about ending tenancy early although to be fair I don't know if I'm looking at the right document.

Help!

@jonesyyy To be honest I couldn't find a clear answer in my agreement, in fact it seemed to give the impression it would be unlikely. I emailed the letting agents with a vague 'I may need to end tenancy early, would this be possible?' before jumping in with both feet! I was further away from the end of my 12month tenancy than you are when I first asked, so I would be hopeful if I were you. I moved out 4 months before the end of mine so it must've been around 6 months before when I actually gave notice.

Best thing to do is try and agree an early exit, and you pay rent on original property until it has been re let and pay until that date, or end of tenancy, whichever is earlier.

6 month is the usual break clause time, Thecowinthemeadow. SO that makes sense.

jonesyyy You've had all the help you are going to get. There is nothing more to say (rather than nobody will be helpful)

Your next / first and only step is to contact the agent / landlord and ask.

I done this even though the agreement didn't allow for it. I had to pay rent up until someone new moved in and had to pay £200 admin fee.

Are you buying or renting? If you are buying you can work the end of the tenancy to completion.

If you are on a fixed term tenancy then you cannot end it early unless the landlord agrees. You can give a month's notice to end after the fixed term or at any point once you are on a rolling tenancy.

If the landlord will not let you out early, and they have no incentive to let you, then you would be liable for the rent and bills for the next three months.

You only have three months left. If you are buying your likely to need all those three months anyway. If renting you could still easily need a month.

Worst case you need to pay rent/council tax on two properties till the tenancy ends. Best case they let you terminate early. Our local council also reduce the council tax bill highly if the house is actually empty to could be pennies. Gas and electric since you wouldn’t be there would be the standing charges of pence per day.