How to fight landlord who won’t accept early release ?

[landlordhell]

Hi, my son and friends rent a house and have done for the last two years. One of the friends has bought a property of his own so is moving out and a replacement tenant is being sought. The landlord says he will only amend the agreement this once . My son and friends were all hoping to move on next spring( landlord is not good) but landlord is saying he won’t amend the tenancy more than once so they have to stay another 2 years. Do they have any recourse? Thanks

I think the renters reform bill coming in may stop that anyway. There won’t be any periodic contracts. Google to make sure

Thank you.

Are you saying that it's a four-year fixed tenancy? And they're all jointly liable for the full amount of rent?

Yeah I think you should be okay once the bill passes - which will apply to existing tenancies

They can’t have signed a standard AST for four years, it would have to have been executed as a deed to be that length. My money would be on the fact that they have a standard 12-months long AST, albeit possibly without a break clause, and the landlord is just being a knob and taking advantage of them not understanding it. Get them to contact Shelter, they’ll provide good advice on individual circumstances.

Thanks all. They took on a ‘lease with 3.5 years remaining.’ It was advertised by the tenants at the time and landlord allowed it. It was at a time when renters were having to outbid each other via agents so they went a different route - a privately advertised house. The new renters’ bill wont affect existing tenancies until 2026 from what I can see online.

Landlord is basically saying they can all leave now or wait until end of contract .

Think you’re going to need some proper advice on this from someone who can look over the documentation as it isn’t a standard AST.

Thanks who would you suggest? Solicitor? How expensive is it likely to be? They are young professionals but won’t have money to take to court.

The one person trying to break the lease now should be dealing with the costs associated with this. The other tenants have no reason to modify the lease at all. They shouldn’t sign any new agreement that puts them at a disadvantage. It is unfortunate for their friend, but he signed a lease agreement and they shouldn’t have to pay for him to exit early.

Thank you @Ponderingwindow .

They could try Shelter for advice?

Are they sure they aren’t having the wool pulled over their eyes?

This sounds highly unusual. Shelter is a good call.

Ok . Thought they were a homeless charity.

You can try Shelter but I’d recommend a landlord and tenant solicitor. They need proper legal advice, and it’s worth paying a few hundred pounds for it. It’s not a given that it needs to go to court, there are a number of legal avenues to pursue to end a tenancy but until they understand more about what sounds like a highly unusual arrangement it’s impossible for anyone to say what they should do next.

Shelter do advise on tenancy issues - they are a good first step or there might be local housing advice services - where are they?

Thank you all. In London

Join Landlordzone.and ask on there. They are very knowledgeable. Or MSE forum in the buying, selling, renting section.

Are there no clauses in the lease about break clauses or giving notice - it sounds like a very non-standard contract if neither the landlord nor the tenant can give notice to each other within a 3.5 year term......

Agree that you need legal advice from a property solicitor who can look over the document. (Citizens Advice or Shelter good starting points if you don't want to incur fees immediately.)

They were told they could give notice but landlord is saying they can only do it once. So either now when one friend leaves or they leave altogether. They have previously discussed their leaving next year and landlord was in agreement. However the friend has decided to break early and has only just told the others weeks before he is completing!

Forget what they were 'told' - what does the contract say specifically when it comes to giving notice?

Haha that’s exactly what I said to my son! This is the problem when they want to be independent and don’t listen to parent advice. I haven’t seen it but have asked the question.

I deal with AST's and while it does come down to what The Contract says it cannot overcome the law.
Its hard to say without seeing the contract and you should speak to Shelter and/or get proper legal advice it sounds to me that one person leaving means that everyone else is responsible for the Tenancy. Therefore they can all leave or continue with the contract as is.
I am not sure if the new Hosusing Act (that is not yet in force) will be applied retrospectively to existing Tenancy Agreements either
I have not seen a 4 year contract, the longest I have seen is 2 years with a 1 year break clause

The renters’ reform bill will affect existing tenancies but not until mid to late 2026.

Hi @Hoppinggreen I think I remember your name from a uni thread. I’ve name changed.