Negotiating an early end to a tenancy agreement: tips and experiences please

[Twodogsandahooch]

We've been renting a house for 6 years. 'Perfect' tenants . Signed a new 12 month tenancy agreement a couple of months ago. Yes I know we should have requested a break clause, or to go on to a periodic tenancy.

We were only just beginning to look at properties when the ideal house popped up on rightmove. Our specifications were quite high due to partner's hobby. Offer accepted. Mortgage approved. Survey fine.
Have made contact with the landlord about ending the agreement early and the initial response was not overly positive.

Just wondered what experiences others have had in this situation? Did you manage to negotiate an amicable exit. Did you end up having to pay the agency fees for the landlord to find new tenants? I assume we will have to pay the rent until they get someone else in.

The house is in a fantastic location in a commuter town and I am sure they won't have any difficulty getting new tenants. B

I'm a LL and wouldn't be thrilled to end a contract early but, for "perfect tenants" who had been with me for six years I think I would suck it up. I would be a lot more inclined to do this if some arrangement could be reached about my current tenants allowing viewings and making the house very welcoming for prospective tenants - possibly allowing a day of block viewings if the market moves fast in your area.

You could also offer to pay rent up to the point the new tenants move in so the LL doesn't have a break in his income (but, of course, you'd have to know that the LL was making real efforts to get new people in).

First, do nothing until exchange looks iminent.

As an evil bastard landlord who should not be allowed on mn ( to save someone else saying it) - in practice you can't be forced to keep paying except by expensive court action. So negotiation is in everyone's interest. Suggest offering to pay agent fees, helping with viewings and so on.

Hi OP ,
I'll be watching this thread with interest as we are in an almost similar situation .
We've been the " prefect tenants " for 4 years in our case . We also started looking recently and things seems to be moving quite quickly . Currently negotiating on a property , got our DIP , broker , solicitor on standby .
However we still have 10 months to go on the rental agreement so it looks like we'll have to break the agreement earlier .
A solicitor I spoke with, said the same thing as a PP , that it's cheaper to negotiate than to go down an expensive legal route .
DH wants to speak with the LL to test the waters and see how agreeable he will be ....

I have had this before and they paid until new tenant was paying. Things let very quickly at the moment.

I had a tenant who wanted to leave early and I agreed it via the agents. From memory, he paid for the (pretty small) gap between tenants out of the deposit but that was it. I'd never want to have to let out a property at a really difficult time of year (wouldn't want tenants to leave mid December for example) but I draft term lengths and breaks with that in mind. It sounds as though you are likely to want to leave at an easier time of the year to re-let in any event. Good luck!

Thanks everyone. Reassuring to hear. I've been landlord in the past and I know I would have gone for the least stressful option too. ( that might have been because I was a nice accidental one rather than a bastard kitten eating one)

Completely agree with them being in a better position now than if we had not renewed a couple of months ago. Renewing the tenancy agreement did not cost them a single penny , and they would have been left trying to find new tenants over Xmas.

Will keep you updated. Good luck Bricks.

I've had this happen and I'm always fine with it. It's not a big deal as long as I have good notice and the tenant is upfront with me about what needs updating plus good with access to do work and viewings.

I can a LL being upset if you tell them you are moving out Dec 31st but from April through November it's not too hard to rent.

I can just imagine MN uproar if a 'perfect' landlord wanted to end a contract early.

Anyway, as other lls have said, its not ideal and I wouldnt be happy - but I would agree to it as long as you agreed to do viewings and pay the tenant finders fee.