Breaking tenancy early

[Housingnightmare]

A few weeks ago DP and I broke up. We signed a new 12month lease on our flat in August, with a 6 month break clause.

We spoke to the letting agent and to break our lease early they want to charge us £2.5k in fees (including legal/admin/check in/check out/re-letting fees, plus the rent for any vacant period).

The letting agent said they would take it from our deposit but without getting our deposits back, neither of us will be able to afford to move to new places.

Does anyone know if there is anything we can do about this or are we stuck until Feb when our break clause kicks in?

It’s a tiny flat and living together after breaking up is just bloody awful!

What does the lease say?
There have been changes to the fees that can be charged but as long as they are not breaching the new laws around this and the lease is very clear about charges if you break early then I doubt there’s anything you can do

If you are an assured shorthold tenant then unless there is a mutual agreement to end the tenancy early then I'm afraid you will be liable for the rent until you give notice which you cannot do until the break clause kicks in.

It seems as though the agents have said yes - you can leave early but only on these terms...nothing unlawful about that I'm afraid.

There is nothing stopping either or one of you physically leaving the property but you will still be liable for the property and the rent until you give notice. Sorry if that's not what you want to hear but it's the correct advice.
All you can do is negotiate a better agreement to leave early.

Did they protect your deposit within 30 days of receiving it and give you the information telling you where and what scheme?

If not - you can claim up to 3 x the amount plus deposit back- could be used as a negotiation tactic.

With the break clause in place you would be liable to stay until then

I’m a landlord though and would be sympathetic in this situation. If a tenant offered to pay the cost of relisting the property and the new contract fee that I’d pay, then I’d let them out of the contract if I could find new tenants. It might be worth proposing this to them

Good luck and sorry for your breakup

Thanks all. Yes deposit in a proper protection scheme and all above board.

The landlord has a let only contract with the letting agent and it seems as though they want to charge their full fee for the year to re-list it, plus all of the additional charges etc. We suggested finding our own replacements but the landlord doesn’t want that so it looks like we are stuck for the foreseeable!

Don’t forget you’ll also be liable for the council tax until flat is relet - and not the LL

Can one of you take over the tenancy and the other leave, you say the flat is tiny

Get a flat share in if it’s 2 bedrooms? LL would probably agree to that.

Flat is a small 1 bed, London prices too so with taking on the extra in bills etc its just not doable for either of us on our own.

We’re trying to stay out at friends etc as much as possible but I think that’s causing more resentment to be honest. I suggested turning the lounge room into a second bedroom and we split it but the kitchen is in there too so we can’t even do that!

Talk to the citizens advice Bureau they'll be able to advice you. I have a feeling you'll have to stay until February at least. You'll have to give notice in January.
I don't think the ll can hold you responsible for the whole year because of the 6 month break in the contract.

Get in touch with them. Also one of you could move out if the other can find a roommate. As long as the rent gets paid the landlord should be ok.

The tenant fees act (i.e. ban) applies to new or renewed tenancies after 1 June. Most of these fees are illegal - the only ones they could charge are those 'relating to early termination of the tenancy'. There's associated guidance, look at pages 71 on. You can ask for evidence of the costs.

www.gov.uk/government/collections/tenant-fees-act

you are liable for the rent and the bills because that's the contract you signed, until you trigger the break.

oh yes, and contact the landlord - you are legally entitled to their contact details. They may not know what the agent is up to.

mencken The charges that the OP has listed would all "relate to early termination of the tenancy" - the landlord will have paid for the contract to be drawn up, a check in/out inventory, fees to the letting agent to market the property. Those will all have to be paid for again for a new tenant. If the OP wants to break the contract, she needs to pay the landlord's losses that occur as a result of doing that ie the cost of all the fees that the landlord is now having to pay twice and any rent while the property is empty (up until February). OP, you should be able to confirm the cost of those fees on the letting agent's website.

I would definitely contact the landlord directly to ask about finding a new tenant. The letting agent does not work for you. They make double the money from reletting the property if you break the contract or exercise the break clause so of course they have no incentive to encourage the landlord to allow you to find a new tenant. You would have to pay the cost of inventories/new contract etc but then there would be no marketing/letting agency fees or need to pay rent while the property is empty. I would also politely point out to the landlord that you will be saving them money if they agree as if you exercise the break clause and move out in February, they will have to pay all the fees and reletting costs, potentially the property may stay empty so they lose rent, but if you find a new tenant now, you will be paying for the fees and there will be no marketing fees to find a new tenant nor risk of the property being left empty.

If the landlord's address is not on your contract, the letting agent has to provide their contact details by law.

Thanks again for the replies. The charges they have specified do fall under ‘early termination of the tenancy’ it seems.

We know the landlord, he only has a ‘let only’ contract with the letting agent so all day to day things we deal directly with him. He was the one we asked about finding another tenant and he basically said he wants the letting agent to deal with it.

I can’t imagine there would be a problem finding a new tenant for the place, things get snapped up so quickly around here.

I will get in contact again and explain that it would save him money if we did find someone. I do get him not wanting to do anything to make things easier for us though, seeing as he will have only just paid the fees for the new contract being drawn up in August.

I’m thinking rather than paying money to the landlord/letting agent, I’ll focus on saving as much as I can so I can find a new place just after Christmas. Will just have to swallow paying double rent for a month or so in the New Year if it comes to it. So so sad to be going back to sharing again...feels like a huge step back!

it is interesting that others (and the agent) think these fees are legal - it is probably untested legislation as it is so new but I'd be surprised. The landlord will have to relet at some point and it seems against the spirit of the fee ban. (and a massive cockup if it is true!)

all you can do is appeal to the landlord and hope he will let you out early. Having a possibly warring couple in a small flat isn't something I'd want.

hope it works out ASAP.

@mencken Why do you think it is against the spirit of the fee ban? The tenant and the landlord signed a contract agreeing that the contract can't be broken for 6 months. It works both ways, giving both parties protection.

It is the same with any contract. If one party breaches the contract, they pay the losses of the other party. The tenant isn't being asked to pay fees, they are reimbursing the landlord's losses caused by the tenant breaking the contract. If the tenant can just break the contract at any point with no penalty, the contract is meaningless.

mencken in cases of an existing tenancy the new fee rules don't come in until may 2020. So assuming all the above fees and terms were included in the tenancy agreement they are perfectly legal.

You're lucky that there's a break clause. Some tenancies don't have them and you'd be tied in for the whole year.

It might be worth writing to your landlord and asking them to waive or reduce the early release fees, in light of the circumstances, but if they refuse, I would keep the tenancy until February rather than pay all the extra fees.

Could one of you find somewhere new to rent - a room as a lodger maybe? And then agree between you how you're going to divide the rent and bills - maybe the person who stays in the flat could pay the majority but the other person could contribute? They would get a council tax discount (25% for a single person) which isn't a lot of money but every little helps.

@Sparklfairy
The new law applies to all new tenancies signed on or after 1 June 2019. As the PP signed a new fixed term tenancy agreement in August, the new law will apply.

Ending your tenancy early
Your landlord or agent can charge you if they agree to let you end your fixed term tenancy early or leave without giving notice. This can only be to cover any loss incurred by your landlord or your agent’s reasonable costs.

From england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/letting_agent_fees_for_tenants

For what it's worth, my DH and I let out a flat and had a similar situation... we only asked the tenants to cover the genuine costs we incurred in re-letting early...largely estate agent fees. I understood (from the agent) we could have charged more but felt it wasn't the right thing to do... good luck!

AnotherEmma depends if it was a renewal or first tenancy agreement. It's not 100% clear from the OP (to me anyway). I had to check this with shelter myself when billed for renewal fees after June 1st.

I think looking at the break down of the fees listed, they are all costs that would otherwise be incurred by the landlord if we weren’t the ones to pay so I think it’s fair enough.

Will look into the possibility of one of us getting a cheap room temporarily elsewhere and sharing the costs - didn’t think of that. Generally they ask for a minimum of 6month contract though which is annoying!