Is landlord being unfair here?

[Anotherdayanotherusername]

Earlier this year we signed a 12 month tenancy agreement with a 6 month break clause. The 6 months is up in October. We then unexpectedly found a property to buy and are due to complete in the next month. As we will struggle to pay both mortgage & rent, we asked the landlord via the letting agent if they would let us out of the contract early. Agent said that usually if a new tenant can be found to move in earlier, a landlord will consider an early exit so would ask landlord. Agent came back to say that as they have decided to sell the property they will not be looking for a new tenant so we will need to pay up until October even if we move out earlier. I texted the landlord directly pleading my case, asking if we could even terminate a month earlier than contracted (September) but they got the Agent to reply to say no. Their argument is they too have a mortgage to pay and had been counting on having rental income until at least October while the property is on the market.

AIBU in thinking this landlord is just being greedy? This decision is putting us in financial strife and could jeopardise our purchase and I really don't know where we stand.

Any advice on what to do. Can we just refuse to pay?

If this is a renewal rather than first tenancy I thought it was month to month?

Hopefully the OP hadn't cause any damage & the deposit will be returned in a timely matter. That should go some way (if not all) of helping OP with the tent & mortgage issue in the same month.

Can you borrow the shortfall for a few weeks before the deposit is returned @Anotherdayanotherusername

Assuming you mean the vendor of the house you're buying, that could go horribly wrong surely? Your landlord has accepted your notice, and started to market the house for sale. So they are unlikely to let you rescind your notice, and yet you could have no house to buy if the vendor doesn't want a delayed completion. Surely the fact that you were in rented accommodation with a fixed term tenancy meant that this was always going to be an issue?

Although, October is not far away, and so if you haven't exchanged yet a few weeks delay (holiday season!!) in August and an exchange early September with completion in 2/4 weeks pretty much gets you there anyway.. Are you sure you've though this through?

I have been there OP when we came back from abroad and rented a house as an emergency we wouldn't have picked- when our ideal rented house came up we had to suck it up and pay 2 months rent extra- ( and it wasn't a cheap house) as it was us breaking the contract- all I would say is can you delay completion at all ? If you have 5 weeks deposit I would factor that in too if the house is still in good order and no damage

Why should the landlord suffer because you can’t plan? I agree with others if your budget is so tight that another months rent - what £1,500 (?) is not possible then you can’t afford to buy.

This is a perfectly standard contract. In. View of the fact you've only been there four months you are the unreasonable one here.

OP says she signed a 12 month tenancy.

This is extremely unwise. If the landlord is serious about selling the property they can just issue a section 21 to retake the house.

What a drama 🤣 you’re only causing yourself more trouble here. LL doesn’t care if your purchase falls through, and will not hesitate to serve you notice when they sell the house you’re currently in either.

You need to just pay the months rent - scrimp, save, over time, nixers, credit union - and get on with it.

You might not be moving into the new house until October anyway, have you got an exact date yet.

We were going n the exact same situation. W asked the sellers to wait (about two months) which they did. So our exchange date was the last week of rental

If you can’t afford a couple months of rent on top of the mortgage then you’ve stretched yourself way too thin on the house you’ve chosen and you can’t afford it. Sounds like you’ve used every penny of your savings if there isn’t a safety buffer which would cover the rent, and you’ve nothing spare from your salaries after paying for everything. If you can’t scrape together the money then you really can’t afford the house you are buying.

It isn’t the landlords problem that you’ve decided to buy something you can’t afford at the wrong time, and you’re expecting the landlord to basically give you the money. You signed a contract and you owe the rent. The landlord has done nothing wrong.

Ask your family if you can borrow a couple of months rent? And pay them back.

That was also a stupid move. If they were house hunting then they should have let it go to a rolling month to month. Why sign a new tenancy?

The overlapping rent is a cost you should have factored in when negotiating exchange and completion. The landlord is not going to care if you have to pull out your purchase. If they have already started gearing up to sell come October they probably won't recind the 6 months break clause if you have no-where to go.

In all honesty I would pay up to October and make sure I have the keys to your new house firmly in your hand before trying to wriggle out of the contract as all sorts can happen in these next few weeks. I know of at least 5 people who had delays to their move in dates - they include family emergencies, sudden changes of circumstances of the sellers, snagging reports highlighting huge snagging issues in her new build which the developers took forever to fix, delays to the new build development they were buying.

Why not put the rent for the property on a credit card and pay it off in a chunks over a few months. If things are so financially tight, what are you going to do if your new property has something requiring urgent repairs? One school mum had to have the boiler in her new house repaired weeks after moving in. Whilst they were trying to chase the previous owners for payment a house with no heating or hot water (it was January) is not pleasant to live in. They ended up paying out for repairs and then taking it up with solicitors. It went on for weeks as the seller was adamant the boiler had been fully serviced (they had all the paperwork) and working fine when they moved out.

Also how are you going to be able to afford to insure and set up all the bills for the new house? Are you absolutely sure you have accounted for all moving costs? You have completely overstretched yourselves by the sound of it and are in for some very tight months.

Well here the law works for you. The clause is unreasonable and cannot be enforced. It is your home still and you can deny any viewings or make them almost impossible. Like every other Sunday between 7am and 10am is the only times you will allow.
So even if you don't live there at that point, you can say this. Or you can ask the landlord to let you off a months rent and you wont be there, you will hand over the keys in advance and he can have viewers all day and night if he likes.

Quid pro quo.

Or carry on bleating about greedy landlords.

Nope I'm with the landlord here. You are contracted for a minimum of six months. Why should he/she lose the money just because you want to save it? If it was the other way round and he asked you to leave before the six months and you didn't want to I think you'd be kicking up a fuss.

Have you asked for the completion date to be at the start of October? Are you near exchange on your purchase?

Yep - she's really made her bed here!

Is your contract till the end of October? So given you haven’t exchanged yet you are likely to have two month overlap? I think that’s pretty good really! Like others have said I would take that opportunity to paint and decorate and clean an empty house.

You won’t get anywhere with the landlord.

However, completion dates are a moveable feast.

Just tell the estate agent that you can’t complete until November now. Of course the vendor could pull out. However, he probably won’t. The chances of him remarketing and completing before November is negligible.

It is not ideal or super ethical, but loads of people do far worse.

@Anotherdayanotherusername Unfortunately OP if you don’t pay, it’s more than likely that the landlord will take you to small claims court and issue a CCJ. This would have a devastating effect on your credit rating meaning you’d have little to zero chance of even buying your house or even renting in the future it would be game over.

id be asking friends and family if they could help.

Gosh it's almost the middle of August, and you believe you are due to complete in the next month - so you are not talking about many month;s rent to pay - are you.
If you normally pay the rent on 1st Sept you would be paying that anyway as you won't have moved out.
Thus you are only talking about paying one month's rent on 1st Oct.

have you exchanged yet on your property ?

Landlord is not being greedy, you signed a contract. They are entitled to the money until the end of the 6th month. I've had 2 tenants leave me after 7 months twice in a row now (both 12 month TAs with no 6 month break clause but I've agreed to let them out early for the reasons they have given) - it is a lot of hassle finding new tenants you trust or selling a property and they still have a mortgage to pay.

This is a ridiculous stance, and not their problem so grandstanding like this just makes you look childish I'm sorry.

Have you actually checked with your bank/mortgage broker when the first payment is made? It's always been after the first month when we've bought and in any case, it's not unusual to discuss the first date. Most people don't have the cash to float two properties.

Secondly I'm guessing you are a first time buyer? If buying in the UK, it is naive to think that the house purchasing process will run on schedule and you won't need the extra month. Even if buying a new build. So it is not good idea to suggest you will flout your contract because it suits you as it's highly likely if your landlord has not sold the property you may have to ask for an extension.