how can I assign a tenancy?

[sandi73]

I am a tenant. I have had to move out. I have told the LL. The term is for twelve months there are three months left to run.

I did offer to pay February's rent (2K) towards the letting agent's fee, but that has been declined. The LL wants me to pay up front the agent's fee and it will not be refundable if I) no tenant is found and/or a tenant is found so close to the end of the term I would end up paying more than the rent and the agent's fee ifyswim! I have refused.

She did say if I could find a tenant that would be fine. I have put forward three interested parties, all who would move in straight away, they all are on salaries that would cover the rent and willing to pay for credit referencing, but she has said nothing in response to letter/email.

My tenancy says, ' not to assign the tenancy of the premises or any part of it without the LL's prior consent which will not be unreasonably withheld. The tenant is liable for reasonable fees and expenses incurred by the LL in arranging any assignment granted.' I am happy to do this.

I do not know what to do. She did tell me that on occasion she has declined applicants in the past, who have offered to pay the entire year's rent up front because they are 'foreign' and she did not think the neighbours would like it! Pretty nasty stuff.

Tactically what is the best way to proceed, how do I arrange an assignment I would presumably need to ask for her consent and if she gives it what happens next. We have always been exemplary tenants. House purchase meant we moved out earlier than expected. I am willing to meet LL half way but she has made her position clear that I am expected to pay until the end of April.

Please can someone give me some pointers, I feel I will be sued (we are not paying rent for Feb March and April) and I want to counter claim in the event she unreasonably withhold consent for us to assign. We just cannot afford two lots of housing costs, I know I am responsible if no tenant can be found, but we have found apparently good tenants who are wiling to undergo credit referencing. I have put forward three possibilities all of whom could take on the property now and all of whom are willing to enter discussions with LL

Sorry for my rant

The phrase "consent which will not be unreasonably withheld" is the key here. I don't think she has a chance of succeeding against you unless she can prove that the tenants you have put forward are unsuitable. Assuming she's holding a deposit from you, I'd write and say that as you have proposed 3 suitable tenants and have not received any response from her, that you will assume she isn't serious about needing a replacement tenant and that, accordingly, you will only be paying rent for February, which she can take out of your deposit and return the remainder when you vacate.

Keep copies of all the correspondence, especially the details of the tenants you've put forward.

Also, it might be worth asking the solicitor who's doing your conveyancing if he'd be prepared to write to her along those lines. Then she'll pay attention.

thank you for your help, I have written to her asking for permission to assign, no response so far, if she doesn't reply I shall write again stating what you have kindly suggested and state that we regard this as a breach of our tenancy agreement and return her keys under separate cover.

I am very upset about it, the property is in a plum location next to a highly sought after secondary school, it would re let in an instant. I offered to pay her lettings fees (on a reasonable basis ie not up front and fees lost even if a tenant is not found or until the end of the term) if she released us and we have been very good tenants always accommodating and being neighbourly to her neighbours.

Thank you again for helping I will just have to hope for the best

I'll stick my neck out here - as a former LL. Your LL will have been expecting the rent to be covered until the end of the term and only then to be incurring fees for re-letting the house. A lot of people buying their own place would budget to pay both the rent and the mortgage if there is a crossover period or would delay completion until nearer the end of the tenancy.

That said, it does seem there is a way to resolve this if both parties can agree and she is now digging her heels in. Did you let her know you were looking to buy or present her with a fair accompli of 'we are leaving on x date'? I wonder if that has annoyed her. Things have gone too far now though - get your solicitor to draft her a letter so you can move on.

I suspect she doesn't want another tenant as she now wants to sell. I cannot see any other reason to refuse replacement tenants providing they pass the reference checking process.

Good luck. When you write, I suggest you say something along the lines of "If I do not hear from you within 14 days of the date of this letter, I shall assume... etc." Then send the letter registered/recorded so she has to sign for it and keep the Post Office receipt.

It sounds as if she's not really bothered. Try not to worry about it, you'll have plenty of other things to think about and you've done everything you can to help her re-let the property. It's her problem now.

we were always up front and honest with her, she knew that we were looking to buy and we did not present her with a fait acompli

I too have been a landlord (many years ago) but a much more reasonable one. The tenant I had was a lone parent with three children under six who was on housing benefit and we did not even take a deposit as she had no money!

I am really surprised at how it has worked out as we have had an excellent and amicable relationship with LL

she has now emailed back ignoring my request to assign the tenancy or even considering the suggested tenants and determine if she wants to offer them a tenancy with no assignment and said that she will re let it herself for the same or a higher rent and that we are liable until the end of the term or until she re lets it whichever is the sooner

However, having discovered the assignment term I think that she is now in breach of contract as she appears to me to have unreasonably withheld her consent to assign and so I shall write to her stating the same

thanks to you both for taking the time to help

Good luck with your move and moving on from this. With a strongly worded letter reminding her about the terms of the AST and what you have done to get her another tenant fingers crossed that does the trick.

A LL wants a paying tenant in situ not a void period when all is said and done.

As a previous poster has said, she may not have intended to let the property beyond April (she might want to sell or move in) so it may he that shes entitled to withhold consent for an assignment on the basis that new tenants wont really want just the 2 months and LL doesnt want to let beyond that.

Also a LL is usually only obliged to consider consent to an assignment once a tenant is deemed suitable - ie have passed the credit checks and presumably given their agreement to just a 2 month lease. Its not a question of giving consent now without any certainty re tenants. Of course they may want a longer tenancy but like i said, you dont know what her plans are.

My advice would be to tread very carefully. You are legally obliged to pay rent. If you move out without paying rent, the onus would be on you to demonstrate to a Court (if it got to that stage) that she withheld her consent unreasonably. You will also probably find a clause in your tenancy which says you are liable for the landlords costs (including legal costs) incurred by the landlord in relation to breach of your obligations (such as non payment of rent).

The OP has said that she is prepared to pay the LL's costs in referencing a new tenant. If she hasn't been told about a shorter term, she can't ascertain if any prospective tenants are amenable to it. I think as long as she can prove she's done everything in her power to find alternative tenants, that should be enough for a court, if it comes to that. Hopefully the LL will avoid all the hassle and just re-let for the remainder of the term, or on a new SHT.

Thats not quite correct though. The OP says the tenancy is for 12 months with 3 months left to run (although she is prepared to pay for one more month). That leaves 2 months of the tenancy to assign. Thats all there is to assign. The tenancy, as it stands at the moment, only lasts until the end of April.

What I was trying to say is that the OP does not know what the LL was planning to do in April (and it would be quite easy for the LL to say that she wants to put it on the market, or move in herself) so she can justifiably argue that unless the OP can find someone to take the tenants for the 2 months that are left, the OP remains liable.

Of course, if the OP is sure that the LL is willing to enter into a new 6 or 12 month tenancy now, that the people she has put forward have passed the credit check, then yes, the LL is probably being unreasonable. But just giving the LL names of people who potentially would be suitable is not enough.

It’s an unusual clause to have in an agreement but lucky!

Speak to a solicitor to get their thoughts as a wrong move would be costly.

She has written to us saying we can't assignassign to anyone period.

I think she's breaking the terms of the agreement, but you need to speak to a solicitor. Can you ask the person who's doing your conveyancing to write to her? A properly written letter from a solicitor might persuade her otherwise and it would be much cheaper than paying the extra months' rent.

Conveyancing is over. I think she's breaching it. We have legal cover on home contents. So will use that. Thanks

I'd really hoped that we could come to an amicable parting. Thanks for your help. It is appreciated.