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Legal matters

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Original poster

need to get out of a rental lease - please help

25 replies

gullibleempath · 08/02/2020 20:32

Long story but I live in London and I had to leave exH in a hurry due to domestic violence. Because I had a job and a decent(ish) salary I could not get housing benefit and I had to privately rent somewhere else. In the urgency of leaving I rented somewhere for a year in London commutable to my work. I paid 6 months up front and am due to pay another 6 months in April.

Within 3 months ExH went to jail and I was left with the family home to live in with the DC. I am currently paying two rents. I cannot afford to pay the six months rent in April. The contract is for a year with no break clause.

What would you suggest I do? I rented it through Foxtons.

OP posts:

LemonTT · 08/02/2020 20:36

What is the rental situation with the family home, it might be easier to get out of that agreement.

If not, speak to the landlord and see if they will release you early.

Do you know anyone that will take over either rental ?

Original poster

gullibleempath · 08/02/2020 20:39

It's the same contract for the family home (I have to pay 6 months rent in April.)

If I speak to the landlord what shall I offer them? How shall I ask?

OP posts:

Astonlegalbrain · 08/02/2020 21:42

gullibleempath
This is a difficult situation and there is no legal answer which will allow you to be released from paying the properties' rents falling due in April.

There may however be a practical answer, but even this would require the agreement of the landlord (LL) of one of the properties to either:

allow you to surrender the lease so the LL can re-let himself or
LL agrees that you may assign the lease to a new tenant (which you /Foxtons will have to find).

If neither of the above are acceptable to the LL then you will have to take a more adverse approach and explain you simply cannot pay and he wont get any of the 6 month rent due in April (other than value of your deposit). A reasonable LL will find a new tenant who can pay and , in this case, you will only have to pay rent up until the property is re-let.

But the LL could in theory leave the property empty and sue you for the 6-month rent as a debt.

Jonb6 · 08/02/2020 22:13

Has your deposit been protected at both properties and were you served the prescribed information within 28 da what days of the commencement of the tenancy?
What does each tenancy agreement say about notice etc?

Isleepinahedgefund · 08/02/2020 22:19

You can't get out of the liability for 6 months rent if the landlord won't let you end the contract early.

I think it's worth a try - a landlord let me out of a lease early with no penalty when I explained I'd split with my partner and couldn't afford to pay the rent. I accommodated viewings and helped them find a new tenant so he wasn't out of pocket. He couldn't have evicted me without being without serving notice or rent for 2 months, and then getting a court order which takes ages, so it suited us both to end the lease early.

Decide which lease you want to keep. Then approach the other LL - Make sure you speak to the actual landlord not the agent if you can - you're giving them a lot of notice and they'd be mad to stay in a contract when you've told them the rent will not be arriving in April. They've got the rent covered until then and hopefully they should be able to let by April. Definitely a job to do on Monday, don't leave it any longer.

mencken · 09/02/2020 19:26

sorry for the situation.

a tenant going to prison does not end the tenancy, but I imagine the first landlord won't want your ex back. If the tenancy is just in his name then not your problem, but if it is in joint names then you are both liable.

I second contacting the landlord, not the agent (especially not that one..) - you are entitled to their contact details if you don't have them.

facts are facts. If you cannot afford two rents (and who could in London) then there is no point in the landlord insisting on the contract, or suing you for money you don't have. And in London things relet rapidly anyway.

I hope the landlord will accept this.

Original poster

gullibleempath · 10/02/2020 09:20

The landlord has replied to me saying he will not advertise the flat again until the summer and that I am liable for the rent.

What are my options?

OP posts:

Bluntness100 · 10/02/2020 09:46

If there is no break clause I'm sorry I don't think uou have any options.

The only way would be if the landlord breached contract first. And you took him to court to prove that his breach negated the contract. As such uou them were eligible not to pay.

Can you negotiate a reduced payment to him, and ask him to advertise it, so he gets someone else in, gets full rent, and extra from you? And you are liable to the person moves in?

DianaT1969 · 10/02/2020 09:50

I would try to get out of the family home rental contract based on your partner going to prison. Cut your ties with that one.

Bluntness100 · 10/02/2020 09:52

Agree, what's the break clause on the family home?

The only other way would be to get a loan and pay the landlord his six months.

ssd · 10/02/2020 10:04

Hasn't the law changed to say renting is on a rolling contract now month to month? I'm in Scotland it may be different.

CodenameVillanelle · 10/02/2020 10:27

Hasn't the law changed to say renting is on a rolling contract now month to month? I'm in Scotland it may be different

Not within a fixed term period.

OP have you been totally honest with the landlord? Have you explained that you simply can't afford to pay the rent? They can't get money out of someone who doesn't have it and honestly, if they took you to court, a woman fleeing DV whose ex has gone to prison then they would very likely lose and be financially worse off.
Is there a DV support service near you? You could really do with a professional to advocate with the landlord on your behalf. Any realistic and experienced landlord will realise it's in their interests to let you end the tenancy early.

Jonb6 · 10/02/2020 11:39

Was the deposit for both properties put into a scheme and were you served the prescribed information within 28 days of the commencement of the tenancy?

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 10/02/2020 11:43

honestly, if they took you to court, a woman fleeing DV whose ex has gone to prison then they would very likely lose and be financially worse off.

I don’t think that has any legal basis... they’d likely win because OP owes the rent. It might not be recoverable; but OP has a job that pays too much for her to get housing benefit, so a court may well consider her in a position to pay...

Are you named on both tenancies, OP? Have you asked the landlord of the family home whether he’d re-let it, under the circumstances?

mencken · 10/02/2020 11:55

sorry to hear that. Stupid response, as you clearly can't live in both properties so one will be empty and that has insurance issues.

is the other landlord any more reasonable?

CodenameVillanelle · 10/02/2020 12:03

@AnchorDownDeepBreath judges don't tend to make court orders on housing issues based on simple calculations of who signed what when. It would cost the landlord little to end the tenancy early - potentially nothing really if it's a lettable property. The judge would look at the financial loss incurred by the landlord (negligible), the defendant's capacity to pay (non existent) and the relative circumstances that led to this situation (not of the defendant's fault given than she was fleeing DV and her ex is a criminal)

It would serve nobody for a judge to order her to pay when she can't - and would be contra to the spirit and purpose of the housing act and relevant legislation.

Bluntness100 · 10/02/2020 12:12

a woman fleeing DV whose ex has gone to prison then they would very likely lose and be financially worse off

There is some confusion on here, firstly a court doesn't pass moral judgements, secondly the court also doesn't look at who lost what, they simply implement the terms of the contract. If there is confusion on the terms they will pass judgement, ie if it's silent or ill written, but the court will uphold the terms of the agreement, unless it's illegal.

Bluntness100 · 10/02/2020 12:15

The judge would look at the financial loss incurred by the landlord (negligible), the defendant's capacity to pay (non existent) and the relative circumstances that led to this situation (not of the defendant's fault given than she was fleeing DV and her ex is a criminal)

No they wouldn't. This is not a divorce hearing, they may alter the repayment terms based on the ops financials. But they will absolutely implement the contract.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 10/02/2020 12:31

Ah, okay @CodenameVillanelle. Thanks for explaining! I wasn’t aware that they’d look beyond the contract being enforceable and the OPs ability to pay.

CodenameVillanelle · 10/02/2020 12:41

Bluntness May have more experience in this area - I've worked with vulnerable people and when it does go to court judges have very much taken circumstances into consideration. I've known of several people who've had their outstanding rent debt cancelled as they have been unable to pay due to various reasons all related to social circumstances.
Judges do not want to make orders that are pointless and unenforceable. If the landlord could have accepted the surrender of tenancy and filled the void without applying to court that is what they should do.

Singlewhiteguineapig · 10/02/2020 14:16

Could you offer to pay to advertise?

Astonlegalbrain · 10/02/2020 21:00

There is so much bad legal advice on here its unbelievable.

Jonb6 · 10/02/2020 22:16

@CodenameVillanelle you are wrong. The tenant is within the fixed term period. Rent is due on the property until the end of the fixed term. Judges do not have discretion to write off debt in these circumstances. The landlords can hold op to account for the whole of the rent until the end of the fixed term, on both properties, unless the ll accepts early surrender. If the landlord accepts early surrender by readvertising the property op is liable only until that surrender is accepted (which it is deemed to have been accepted under those circumstances) and not consequently for the whole term.

It would have been helpful if op answered my question but as she hasn't I make no further comment on what else may assist her.

Jonb6 · 10/02/2020 22:20

@CodenameVillanelle please don't post on legal issues unless you have extensive practitioner experience on the statutory law being queried. It helps no one.

Confuseddotcommm · 10/02/2020 22:26

I can’t comment on the law, as I am not qualified to do so, but I am quite appalled that the Landlord has been so insensitive, given the circumstances. Do they have the full facts (sensitive though they are)?

Another option is to speak contemporaneously with Foxtons, again explain the situation and see if they feel a sublet is (commercially) achievable. So long as the property is in good order, I cannot see why it would not. A forfeiture of the lease to be replaced by another tenant would be better for you, but a sub-let would at least cover the payment. There is still the question of who manages the risk of non payment or any damage arising from the sub-letting tenant.

Finally, paying in 6 months chunks seems quite unusual, why not monthly?

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