How to get out of tenancy agreement

[STICKIESWOMAN2]

I signed a 12 month contract end of January after selling our family home. Me and H were going to try living in two houses to relieve pressure of step father/children issues that had mounted last year so rental suited me fine, thought it would be more long term. Split living didn't work and we are better together working it out. So H moved in with me in April. We need to buy a house now together and have found one and can move end of this month/July. Have asked Landlord if I can end lease early, after 6 months.
Have offered to help find new tenants, do viewings whatever would help her to fill the space, or asked I I can sublet it. She's turned around and said no. A contract is a contract and you have to pay for 12 months.
I pay £2600 p/m for an estate house which is very high for my area, I paid premium because I was desperate at the time and have 2 dogs which I pay £200 extra a month for too.
What are my options.>..??
Can I do something (and if so what) to break the contract and get her to end it? My H has 2 cats who are now living with us, landlord doesn't know this.

If I just leave and she pursues me legally what will happen? If I don't have the money, can they go after my house etc? What will the court say if it gets to court and what will it cost me ? Slightly scared.

I understand shes' annoyed with me but life changes and shit happens and I'm trying to be really helpful and accommodating and help replace myself as a tenant at no cost or inconvenience to her and she is still saying no!

Help....

no, you can't leave outside the notice period, and if someone takes the tenancy over from you then you can still be persued for all bills and rent.

it's no big deal, just delay buying for a few months.

Rent out your new house?

Yes they can take you to court and if they win (they will) you will also be liable for their legal costs as well as your own. Your landlord is also probably saying life changes and shit happens but you committed legally and your landlord will have made decisions around your let.

Sorry but you signed a contract. If she pursues you, she WILL win and you'll eventually have to pay, along with legal costs and have your credit rating ruined for 6 years. Perhaps offer her a lump sum to move out if you're thay desperate.

How is her having to do end of tenancy inspections, probably having to do cleaning after non declared pets, re-advertising the house, doing potentially multiple viewings, performing credit and background checks and sorting contracts not going to be an inconvenience for her?

So you've purchased the house already? And didn't check with the LL beforehand if they will agree an early release? The usual thing to do, would be to wait with house buying until you're reaching the end of your set 12 months. Sounds like you'll be paying for both properties for the next 6 months.

I understand everybody's replies. But I'm asking for accurate advice and help....thought I could mediate with her and try to find a solution - obviously this may cost me more which I'm happy with; and am after advice of the best and the worst that could happen and how this actually would affect me financially. How does a court make you pay if you have no money but own a house for example?
Was just wondering if anybody had any best advice tips on how to proceed.
I want to get on with the new house settling my family and working on the diy, I feel in limbo in a rented house knowing it's very temporary.
I felt offering to have a professional clean, sorting out a new tenant - using an estate agent to do checks etc - and bearing the cost of all this so LL gets the same rent as they currently get from me would mean landlord has to do very very little.
I'm just after a bit of help from her and trying to find the best way to ask for that. I appreciate a contract is a contract and I'm legally bound, but I'm asking for advice from MN's for the best way to get myself out of this situation.
Yes we have completed on the new purchase, it was very quick and I know normally you'd wait until a tenancy ended but our life has been so up and down for the last 12 months with 2 moves and I don't want to prolong putting us all through it again, we need to establish ourselves and move on. I know the LL doesn't have to have one ounce of empathy but I just felt if she was protected from all the work and made more money from it she might have some compassion......

Go and speak to citizens advice, where you will get unbiased impartial advice as to your rights as a tenant. Please don't ask on here.where you won't.

Good luck - hope it all works out for you.

A charge can be placed on your assets if you don't settle your debts or bankruptcy. You really don't want it to get to that stage.

Why didn’t you research this beforehand, or at any point during the new house purchase? You are now legally liable for 2 properties and you are going to have to pay for them!

There really isn't much you can do. Yes you can offer to take on the cleaning, agency fees, do viewings etc. And sometimes a landlady will accept that. But she doesn't have to, so ask but if she says no there is very little you can do. Leave and stop paying and she can pursue you through the courts - which will cost you money to fight and honestly you're unlikely to win.

I get that's not what you want to hear, but kindly it's not your landlady's problem the personal challenges of the last year.

So your choices are

1. Ask again, ask if there is anything beyond paying the full contract which can change her mind. But sounds like the answer is no.
2. Don't proceed with the house purchase at all or see if it can be slowed down, have the sellers found somewhere, what's the chain?
3. proceed with the purchase and either rent it out short term or accept that one or other house is empty while you pay for both
4. Risk it by moving out and not paying, but honestly this is thé worst idea. It's a gamble on whether she'll come after you but I can't see any reason why she wouldn't, it's hassle for her but legally she's in the right.

You signed a contract agreeing to pay the set amount for 12 months. You have tied yourself in to this contract. If you breach the terms she can sue you, yes. (And you will lose).

Pretty much what @BeBopBeBop has said.

I would try and come to an agreement where you pay a portion of the remaining rent and fees, it may be there is an amount which could achieve the ending of the tenancy early. If the property could then be rented within the 6 months there may not be any financial loss to the landlord, and could result is a financial gain. I would not go a low figure though.

Personally, if the above option does not work I would pay the full amount and just accept it as one of life's experiences. Any other course of action you have detailed will cause more problems. Short term gain will come back a bite you if legalities are involved.

Paying all the outstanding amount will mean you can move into your new home and get on with your life. Breaking a tenancy and being pursued by the landlord with the associated legalities/costs will just drag the issue on and impede you getting on with your life and new home. Look at the bigger picture.

but you cant do any of this work, as you dont have the legal authority and it all has the potential to blow up in your face when it all goes wrong. You find and install a new tenant and they don't pay rent for example - do you have insurance that covers you taking responsibility for something like that? you are being completely unrealistic.

What is the notice period in your lease? is there an option of giving 3 months or 6 months notice? have a look at that.

Or just pay what you owe.

Look up Shelter. They are housing experts who will give you advice.

But, as you have signed for 12 months, there really is very little you can do unless your landlord is in agreement. You can give two months notice towards the end of your 12 months, but will still need to pay for the full year.

Is there a break clause in your contract?

If not you are at the mercy of the LL who can hold you to the contract you signed if they want

I would go back to her and try again. Explain all the costs that you will cover, etc and I would drop in that you are worried about the property being empty for 6 months as you will have moved out

You signed a contract. You are legally bound to it.

She will win if it goes to court. You certainly don’t want a Court Judgement against you as it will wreck your credit referencing for a very long time and really mess up your life.

Citizens Advice is a good place to start.

Get some advice as others have said from Citizens Advice..

Contracts are there for a reason and they protect tenants and landlords. You signed it, you need to honour it. As a LL I would only consider letting you leave early with no charge if you had 'shit happen' like a bereavement or diagnosis which are totally out of your control.
But purchasing a house during the contract period is just bad planning on your part.

The accurate advice is:
You are legally obliged to stick to the contract you signed. If you try to get out of it, it will cost you more.
You will just have to pay for two houses for 6 months because that's what you signed up for.

Your suggestions to the landlord that "won't cost anything" actually will cause them plenty of admin work and anxiety and almost certainly also some extra incidental expenses. Why would they agree to that when there's a watertight contract saying that you owe them the money anyway?

The landlord might possibly consider a more mutually beneficial suggestion. You need to think of suggestions that will actually give them a significant share of the costs you will save, rather than giving you all the benefit but being cost-neutral to them. E.g. that in exchange for permission to sublet, you hand over an additional £2000 deposit and agree a 15% increase on your rent for the remainder of the contract. You take on all the risk of the subletting being a disaster but if you are lucky and successfully find someone good to sublet to, who doesn't do any damage and leaves quietly at the end, then both you and the landlord are better off than if the existing agreement remains unchanged. The landlord's insurance may forbid subletting though.

The landlord is saying no because there is no incentive or benefit to them for saying yes to any of your suggestions so far.

Why do people sign a contract and then think they can get out of it

I see it all the time I’ve paid a deposit and now I don’t want what I agreed to - Can I get my money back

your landlord is perfectly within their rights to hold you to your contract

if you don’t pay it and leave even if you don’t have any cash you have a house

if the courts put a ccj on you your credit will be fucked for the next. 6 years so when you come to remortgage you probably won’t be able to

You seem to make a lot of snap decisions. 6 months ago you separated due to step kids. Now you are buying a house in a month. What really has changed?

Take your time. Buy next year.

Whilst what you have suggested are reasonable suggestions, your landlord does not have to agree to them, just as she hasnt done as they dont suit her needs.

I think that you will just have to see out the end of your tenancy as she can take you to court if you stop paying.

Has the landlady fulfilled her legal obligations? Has she protected your deposit, given you an up to date gas certificate, got a local authority licence if required in your area? Because if not that would give you leverage.

She hasn't done a gas safety certificate ; not sure about local authority licence don't think it's needed but can check. She has protected our deposit.
How much leverage would that really give - that she hasn't done gas safety certificate?

Well.... given it is a criminal offence for a landlord not to have a gas safety check done every 12 months and provide you with a copy, if should give you some leverage.