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Original poster

Unable to negotiate surrender of tenancy with landlord - any ideas please?

29 replies

SR193 · 05/12/2023 11:21

I have a fixed 12 month AST with an 8 month break clause. I am in the 4th month of my tenancy. I recently bought a house, and would like to surrender my tenancy early. I made my landlord the following offer, which I thought was very reasonable:

  • Give 2 months' notice, move out after 1 month to allow new tenant to take over earlier (even though rent would be covered for 2 months), and pay a £1000 penalty fee to put towards re-advertising.

The area I live in is highly sought after and you can get tenants in very quickly. I spoke to the estate agents and they reckon he should be able to get more for rent. I highlighted these points in my email to him. Unfortunately he does not seem to want to let me go and refused the offer I made.

His counter offer was that I pay part of the advertising fee (approx £800-£1000), and continue to pay rent until a new tenant is found. I didnt accept his offer as there would be nothing stopping him from turning down potential tenants and holding out for someone willing to pay significantly more. I could essentially end up paying more than if I just waited till the break clause. I do not entirely trust my landlord based on what the neighbours have said and my own interactions with him.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem, were you able to negotiate a deal? Anyone have any ideas on what I can do/try? I should probably mention that if my landlord takes me to court, I would need to report this immediately to my professional governing body - so I am little stuck with choices.

Please help!

OP posts:
Welshphoenix · 05/12/2023 11:38

His suggestion is very reasonable from his point of view. There is no guarantee he will get a suitable new tenant at the end of two months despite being in a good area. Yes he could be picky about the new tenant knowing you will be paying and also responsible if there is any damage whilst the property is empty. He also won't have to cover council tax on an empty property again as the tenant that is your responsibility too. I can see all the reasons for his decision and why your offer is not attractive to him. You need to make him an offer that will be attractive to him which may include more money than just paying the rent if that is going to be affordable to you until you reach the break clause

FallingAutumnLeaf · 05/12/2023 11:41

When is the expected completion date for the house you are purchasing?
I can see the landlords point of view.
Depending on your rental amount, might you just be better delaying the purchase by a few weeks, no paying any readvertisment fee, and utilising the break clause?

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 05/12/2023 11:42

Continuing to pay the rent until a new tenant is found is very common in surrenders.

OldTinHat · 05/12/2023 11:50

I also understood paying rent until new tenants were found was normal. Happened to my DS, which is when I first heard, and he said that's just how it is. Luckily for him, a new tenant moved in the day after he moved out.

dramalamma · 05/12/2023 11:51

Could you agree to pay rent until a new tenant is fine subject to a limit of when your break clause would be? Thing is the landlord doesn't have to accept anything because it's you breaking the contract.

NorthernSpirit · 05/12/2023 13:00

The landlord doesn’t have to accept any offer from you as you have a fixed term contract. The contract protects the landlord as well as the tenant. Any offer they accept is completely at their discretion.

It’s very reasonable that you pay the rent until a new tenant moves in (this is normal practice if you are breaking the contract that you have signed / agreed to and is entirely reasonable).

You should also pay a % of the fees the landlord has paid for your 12 month tenancy if you are moving out early - as (as an example):

• If the landlord paid the agent a fee (as an example) for your tenancy of £1,000 for the 12 months.

• Plus a check in fee / check out fee for the 12 months of (as an example) £500.

• The landlord has paid fees of £1,500 for your 12 month tenancy. This = £125 per month.

For every month you are not fulfilling your contract - you should pay £125.

Thats completely fair of your landlord.

If you don’t like it - they can keep you to the terms of your contract. It’s legally binding contract. It’s an absolute ball ache when tenants want to break their contract and creates work for the landlord.

I say this as a landlord of 25 years.

CasperGutman · 05/12/2023 14:47

The landlord can't reasonably expect you to stay beyond when the break clause would allow you to leave anyway. But up to that point it seems reasonable to me that you would have to pay rent until another tenant acceptable to the landlord is found and pay reasonable costs to cover the amount he's out of pocket. If you judge it to be better to just activate the break clause, then do that instead.

Original poster
SR193 · 05/12/2023 14:55

Hi all, thanks for the advice and personal experiences. I should probably have explained that I have been renting with my current landlord for 1 year and 4 months. I renewed my contract at the end of the 1st year - he just asked me to change the dates on the existing contract. He did not pay the agent any re-letting/inventory fees etc and took over full management. I don't know if that makes a difference in how you view the scenario. I can imagine it would be a pain if a landlord paid full advertising costs and the tenant wanted to leave after just 6 months. He also gave me the option of extending my contract for either 6 or 12 months, so I didn't think he would mind if I left after 6. I foolishly opted for another 12 as I didn't expect to buy a house so soon given the current market.

If it was any other landlord I would have accepted his offer of paying a % of the advertising fee and staying until a tenant is found. But I wouldn't put it past him to get me to cover some of the advertising fee with the intent of not taking a new tenant until the break clause - he is the kind of person who would do that. I risk losing more if I take up his offer.

I do understand that if I leave after 2 months' notice, there is the possibility that he is not able to find a tenant, but that may happen anyway when I leave in 4 months' time. The contract also only allows him to bring in tenants for viewings during the last 28 days of the term, which means if he waits for the break clause, he will only have 1 month to find a new tenant and is more likely to have a void period. If he let's me go in 2 months, I am happy to let tenants come in anytime at short notice - he will have 2 months to find a tenant. He will need to pay for advertising costs again anyway, and this time he will need to cover all of it himself. Maybe I am alone in this, but I am baffled by his reluctance to accept my offer.

Unfortunately, if we stick to the contract, I lose out and my landlord also loses out. I'm trying to find an alternative, but I don't think I can accept his offer as I risk losing more, and knowing him I probably will.

Seems like we have reached an impasse.

OP posts:
NorthernSpirit · 05/12/2023 17:38

Following on from your update…..

Did you sign a new fixed term contract for 12 months (with an 8 month break clause)?

Or did the landlord stick with the current contract that was in place and make it a periodic / rolling contract?

That makes a huge difference.

If the 2nd scenario - you can legally serve notice (usually just one month) and you aren’t responsible for any fees.

As an aside - has the landlord protected your deposit in a government backed deposit scheme? If not - you could use that as leverage.

GreatGateauxsby · 05/12/2023 17:43

I would counter his counter and agree
to pay part of the advertising fee (approx £800-£1000), and continue to pay rent until a new tenant is found to rent the property this new rent is at an agreed rate of X and the landlord agrees you are liable up until 4 weeks after a suitable tenant (give definition ie references) is identified.

ie the rent is reasonable and he takes the first suitable renter that wants it

DelphiniumBlue · 05/12/2023 17:45

Have you actually completed on the purchase of the house? Just wondering, as it's only 4 months since you signed the 12 month contract, which presumably you wouldn't have done had you known you would be buying so soon.

User13579367337 · 05/12/2023 17:58

It doesn’t change anything really. It’s normal and usual to pay the rent until new tenants are found. He’s not legally obliged to help you at all. Given that you have only just started a new contract but have been there for a couple years, there’s possibly decorating, updating, cleaning, inspections, and then advertising and showing round tenants, going though references/credit checks/contracts etc before someone else moves in. Not many landlords are going to do that 8 months early as a favour to a tenant

Ponderingwindow · 05/12/2023 18:04

He doesn’t have to negotiate at all.

paying costs and being liable until a new tenant takes over the lease is pretty standard.

Yes, he absolutely could just take your money and keep charging you. If you aren’t 100% certain of your move date on your new house, you may be better off just keeping the flat until your break clause.

Elieza · 05/12/2023 18:07

I wouldn’t count my chickens re entry date on bought house. These things can slip massively by months. Or even be a non starter if someone in the chain breaks it.

Original poster
SR193 · 05/12/2023 18:29

To answer some of the questions above:

The deposit is protected. The landlord contacted me 2 months before my initial contract was due to end and we renewed it, so I am not on a periodic tenancy.

Yes I have completed on the house. At the time of renewal I had not even started looking for a property to buy, but the steep rent increase prompted me to start. I went for a 12 month contract with an 8 month break clause as I figured it would take a while before I found a place, possibly be in a chain etc. However, I found a place a week or so after renewing my tenancy, found a mortgage broker who was finally able to secure the amount I needed, the sellers were chain-free and wanted a quick sale as they had already moved out. Before I knew it.......I had a house!

@GreatGateauxsby, that is a possibility. If he would agree to take on the first tenant that meets the criteria agreed by him, then I would accept his offer. I guess if it's put in writing then it would give me some assurance that he wont just take me for a ride. Thanks, will see if I can work with that.

OP posts:
meatbaseddessert · 05/12/2023 19:13

You may have agreed to renew it but did you sign a new contract for this year?

Catopia · 05/12/2023 19:40

Blimey, that's a quick purchase for the current state of the market! I don't suppose you know anyone who would want to take over the tenancy that you could recommend to save the landlord having to readvertise?

In the meantime, paint the rooms without all your stuff there - so much easier!

TheABC · 05/12/2023 19:47

Given how desperate people are for rental places, I don’t think you will be left hanging long.

Original poster
SR193 · 05/12/2023 20:46

meatbaseddessert · 05/12/2023 19:13

You may have agreed to renew it but did you sign a new contract for this year?

It's a bit of a grey area. The original contract is a PDF that we all digitally signed via the estate agent's portal. For the renewal he asked me to alter the start/end date and the rent amount. I also altered the date next to my original signature but did not technically re-sign the contract. He also sent it back to me without having re-signed or altered the date next to his signature. I looked online to see if the contract is even valid, and apparently if he can prove that we had a verbal/written agreement then it's valid. He has emails and text messages where we've discussed the tenancy in detail, and the day I paid the increased rent acknowledges the new contract commencing.

OP posts:
Original poster
SR193 · 05/12/2023 20:57

Catopia · 05/12/2023 19:40

Blimey, that's a quick purchase for the current state of the market! I don't suppose you know anyone who would want to take over the tenancy that you could recommend to save the landlord having to readvertise?

In the meantime, paint the rooms without all your stuff there - so much easier!

I don't know anyone personally who needs a place to rent. But I know this particular area is highly sought after. It has quick access into london via tube and rail. It's in the cathcment area (which is very small) for some of the most sought after primary and secondary schools in the area.

Any ideas where I can seek prospective tenants without having to advertise via an agent? Can I just pay an agent/company to have them referenced?

Have got the decorators to start painting the new place since its empty.

OP posts:
Tulipsroses · 05/12/2023 21:11

It's absolutely unreasonable to ask early termination fee if you stayed over a year.
I'm a portfolio landlord I also manage my properties. There are a lot of people who think that landlord can do anything. In reality we have absolutely no power to demand anything from the tenant.

What I would do in your situation is to advertise the property your self and find a tenant. It cost £99 for both Rightmove and Zoopla. Use online estate agent. In current market if you don't have 10 viewing requests in first day I would be surprised. Show the property, get all the prospective tenant information and just give it to the landlord.

cbbo · 05/12/2023 21:17

His counter offer is quite normal and industry standard

Original poster
SR193 · 05/12/2023 21:24

Tulipsroses · 05/12/2023 21:11

It's absolutely unreasonable to ask early termination fee if you stayed over a year.
I'm a portfolio landlord I also manage my properties. There are a lot of people who think that landlord can do anything. In reality we have absolutely no power to demand anything from the tenant.

What I would do in your situation is to advertise the property your self and find a tenant. It cost £99 for both Rightmove and Zoopla. Use online estate agent. In current market if you don't have 10 viewing requests in first day I would be surprised. Show the property, get all the prospective tenant information and just give it to the landlord.

Thanks, I had a look at online estate agents like you suggested and came across OpenRent. The fees are very reasonable. Some of my local estate agents quoted between £3000-£3500 for a let only service - yikes. I'll definitely look into something like OpenRent to find a tenant myself. Cheers!

OP posts:
EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness · 05/12/2023 21:40

SR193 · 05/12/2023 20:46

It's a bit of a grey area. The original contract is a PDF that we all digitally signed via the estate agent's portal. For the renewal he asked me to alter the start/end date and the rent amount. I also altered the date next to my original signature but did not technically re-sign the contract. He also sent it back to me without having re-signed or altered the date next to his signature. I looked online to see if the contract is even valid, and apparently if he can prove that we had a verbal/written agreement then it's valid. He has emails and text messages where we've discussed the tenancy in detail, and the day I paid the increased rent acknowledges the new contract commencing.

Show quote history

You have a contract. It's not a grey area. You agreed terms, there is consideration on both sides and you both intended to create legal relations. Signatures and a written agreement are useful to clearly show both parties intent and agreement to the terms, but are not necessary for a contract to be binding.

You've got 4 months till the break clause so that's the maximum he can get. Give notice as soon as you can for the break clause. It's reasonable for him to want the rent until that 8 month period is up. You could offer to pay rent if he can't find a tenant until the break clause comes into effect at 8 months. Leaving the contract early clearly benefits you, the benefit to him is conditional on him getting a new tenant paying at least the same rent, there's no guarantee that will happen.

ETA: finding a new tenant yourself sounds like a good idea. Hopefully that works out, but your landlord is not being unreasonable expecting you to pay till the 8th month is up.

roarrfeckingroar · 05/12/2023 21:42

Since the government banned charging various fees to tenants, landlords now carry the costs levied by letting agents. This is often several hundred ££. Reference check fees, checking in and inventory fees, bed contract fees... it's a huge outlay for a landlord.