Landlord Breached Contract

[Bellalunagirl]

Please help if you can we are in a tight spot and not sure what our rights are - thank you

Background: we signed a contract with the letting agent ages ago to move in this week. Agent contacts us this week to say we can't move into the house on the agreed date as its not ready. Turns out one of the workman has tested positive for covid so apparently they have to deep clean before they can finish off the property for us to move in. They want to delay by a couple of weeks.

This puts us in a really bad spot. We are moving to a new area and kids are due to start school the following week. So we can't delay move. We are desperately looking for an AirBnB to cover the gap but we have no guarentee that it will be ready on the new date.

Told we can't claim costs as its due to covid. We have paid the deposit and first months rent. We have a signed contract.

Where do we stand? what can we do.

Btw is there anywhere other than AirBnB that you can get short terms lets that you can possibly extend your stay? any recommendations would be gratefully received

Why did you leave it until a week before your child started school? Not much wiggle room there.

Can you offer to clean? There is no way I would want to pay two lots of rent. Sounds like a ballache. Plus how long ago was this workman in the house? How likely is Covid going to survive?

The contract hasn't begun so they haven't breached it. They may offer compensation if you ask.
Look at holiday parks too.

We didn't want to leave it until a week before that was the landlord's choice. House is perfect for the school.

The agent has said no compensation.

Come the end of the week the contract will have been breached because we are not in the house that we've paid for.

They will only use professional cleaners.

Does anyone have any idea from a contract perspective where we stand?

I'm so stressed right now, almost had a panic attack today.

How long will a professional clean take?

I imagine them trying to mitigate the effects of Covid will override the contract, tbh.

Post on the moneysavingexpert forum in house buying and renting section.. There are some really knowledgeable posters in there

A professional clean should only take a day.

I'm fairly sure the usual law for this situation is the landlord has to pay for your accommodation costs. (Within reason so not a five star hotel when there's mid range options). You have a legal contract.

Try to contact Shelter tomorrow. Unfortunately they're quite difficult to get through to so also see if there's any other legal or housing advice in your area. It might even be worth paying for a solicitor's letter to the agents.

I don't see why Covid changes anything. It only takes a day at most to deep clean. I suspect there's another problem. Possibly the current tenant hasn't moved out or there's something wrong with the house that needs fixing. I hope it gets sorted asap for you. This sort of thing is why landlords shouldn't be allowed to get new tenants until they have vacant possession.

Money saving expert forum, specifically the housing section, will be your friend here.

Not from a contract perspective, but it may be worth bearing in mind that being seen as "awkward" or "difficult" tenants may not be a good starting point.

I realise I may be (still) bitter and projecting a bit though.

sheepandcow thanks for your advice. I'm going to contact a solicitor today for legal advice. It does seem suspicious to me that apparently it's going to take so long (extra 3 weeks). The house is empty so suspect there is another issue they are not being honest about.

I don't really care about being seen as awkward or difficult as we have another house to go to long term. plus i wouldnt be brow beaten by this perception anyway to the detriment of our rights. We are already out of pocket now by over a thousend and I don't see why we should be carrying those costs when we haven't done anything that contravenes the contract.

Money Saving Expert is a great idea as well - thank you!

Actually, thinking back to when I was a student our really shady landlord put us into another flat until they'd finished the damp proofing and plastering ( never painted it though!!) So I think the financial burden would be on them.

I've contacted a solicitor so will post their advice on here once confirmed as it might be useful tp someone else.

Red I'm pretty sure a landlord's insurance should cover this sort of thing.

All I want is for our costs to be covered. I've calmed down now. If they cover the costs then we are made whole and its all good as far as we're concerned.

That's crazy that they are saying that it will hold things up that long.

This sounds like a really bad start to a tenancy. It only takes a day to deep clean a property and maybe a further 24 hours left unoccupied to diminish any risk of Coronavirus. Something doesn’t quite add up.

If I were you, I’d either wait patiently which is easier said than done or walk away. There will only be bad feeling on both sides once a solicitor has been instructed. You’ll move in but then find your tenancy not renewed after the term has ended.

Other places for short lets, Booking.com, Homeaway, Rightmove sometimes has some.

Spoke with solicitor. They will be in breach of contract if the end of the week passes without us agreeing to a contract variation. Covid does not release them from their contractual obligations.

Solicitor recommends emailing letting agent with list of costs and firstly seeking an amicable solution. If they don't agree then we should take it to small claims court as we would have a strong case. Solicitor will advise us in background to avoid escalating the situation at this stage.

Turns out the only reason that they said they wouldn't need to pay costs was because of it not being covered by the insurance held by the LL. But apparently this is nothing to do with us and we can seek costs regardless.

If they completely break the contract we can seek costs and damages through the courts.

Good to know where we stand

To be honest if they meet 50% of the costs and stick to the new move in date I'll be happy.

Not saying that you shouldn’t force the issue, and you’re well within your rights to do so. But I think you run the risk of being issued a S21 at the end of your 6/12 month term, just something to be aware of.

As Swooningmonkey said. How long were you planning to stay? Aggravating the landlord before you even move in might bite you on the bum quite soon.

Don't care about staying beyond 6 months so not an issue at all tbh. We will probably look for something bigger tbh. So as an interim this will do to get us into the area. Plus we have property of our own. More concerned about being brow beaten by covid to carry all the costs.

Bet there are loads of tenants out there can't stick up for themselves for fear of being evicted or getting a bad reference.

Before anyone says I'm a nightmare tenant I've never missed a rent payment, ever. Been a model tenant in terms looking after the property and done everything by the book. I've previously been a landlord myself so I've always played fair in looking after my tenants. Refunded them if I've ever been fault and always refurbished when needed.

So don't worry about me I'm in a strong position to see it through if needs be

I don't think you would like a nightmare tenant at all fwiw, just not someone who roles over and accepts crap!

Plus we have property of our own.
Really... Have you given your rental address to get the school places, then?