Tenant leaving early after notice period, should unused rent be refunded?

[1234a12]

Hi everyone just looking for some advice. I've a tenant in the house that is on hap and pays a month in advance. We decided to sell the house and gave her 6 months notice . After 2 weeks she has found somewhere to rent and I've agreed she could leave early as I know how hard it can be to find somewhere. However now I have to refund rent for the rest of the month that she won't be there. This seems a bit unfair that I'm having to come up with this money when she's leaving so early with no notice? Does this seem right? I've said I'll return the deposit after inspection on the house which I'm sure will be fine. Any advice?? Thanks

The decent thing to do is to refund it. You created the problem.

Legally, it could be argued the other way.

I would return the rent and celebrate not having to go through the full eviction process.

So many tenants are left with no choice atm, but to go through the full process to get anywhere with new housing that you’ve hit it lucky that she’s managed to find somewhere and you can get on with selling.

What is the actual legal position?

You've asked her to leave her home. She could have refused and forced an eviction - think you should probably just take this on the chin.

Your tenant has done as requested and found somewhere else to live. Yes, you should refund them any rent paid in advance for the days that they have paid for but not used.

I’d just refund her -
it could cost you more in legal fees
than refunding her and cause
un-necessary upset, especially if they have been good tenants.

Thanks everyone just wasn't sure what to do in this position so wanted some advice. Appreciate it . I'll refund her the rent

So she wants 2weeks or so refunded ?

seems a bit cheeky

The alternative is that the tenant keeps the tenancy and the keys, until the final day of the tenancy, even though they have moved our meaning that the house will be empty and open to vandalism or squatters ( and the possibility that the tenant has cancelled insurance and utilities ) and the owners unable to get in and prepare it for sale. Giving back the extra rent could be cheaper in the long run.

Legally you probably could insist on 1 months notice. However, the risk is that she then says that she can’t afford to pay double rent for a month so does not move after all. And then can’t find anywhere else and you have to go through a long expensive eviction process.

Do not refund until property has been returned, keys surrendered, surrender documentation signed and state of property checked. But yes an agreement to refund in principle is good practice and will hopefully lead to a nice clean and on time departure.

Its perfectly reasonable to have at least a month notice, so I don’t think you should be refunding those 2wks.

You definitely need to refund the 2 weeks. They have left at your request as promptly as possible. You would be a massive CF if you didn't.

You have given her notice which will involve her in moving costs. Give her the 2 weeks rent back, it's fair.

We are going into our 12th month with the tenant not paying any rent. Eviction process is very heavily weighted in favour of tenants (even before the new bill). I’d advise cutting your losses.

And some people wonder why landlords are hated...

Yes its surprising the op asked what they should do really. If you read this sentence its staggering the way they feel the tenant cost them money.

"This seems a bit unfair that I'm having to come up with this money when she's leaving so early with no notice?"

Thank goodness this type of over leveraged parasitic business model is being squeezed out.

You should be absolutely ecstatic! In the present rental environment, it's particularly hard to get a tenant out. I was told that the vast majority of tenants are sticking it out until the bailiffs come (apx six months after the date on the notice). I was fully prepared for that when giving my late mum's tenants notice in order to sell her property. But I and the agent were really surprised and delighted when the tenant left only six weeks after she should have.

A tenant leaving early is an absolute dream to any landlord these days. I'd be returning the rent tied up in a pretty ribbon!

And the council tax? If she has moved out she will not want to pay council tax but is liable until the end of her tenancy

No she's not liable, she was asked to vacate and the landlord agreed she could leave early.

Can"t be very hard to find somewhere if she found a place in two weeks?

Available rental is up by 15% at least, I would say more judging by the number of signs up.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/rental-availability-up-15-year-on-year.html

In general, it is very hard. Buy to let landlords are frantically offloading their properties due to the new rules that are about to come in, so in most parts of the country there are a lot of prospective tenants needing new homes, and far fewer homes available. What rental properties are available are also more expensive, as landlords can ask for more due to the lack of supply.

So both tenant and the OP were very fortunate

Just saw this. I'm surprised, as when I issued the S21 to my mum's tenants, the rental agent and the estate agents I consulted said the opposite. And I was given the same impression on the various landlord forums I consulted. That was just under a year ago.

A lot has changed in a year, there has been a very large drop in immigration and in applications for work/study visas, and of course they cancelled the "Care Visa" which was bringing a lot of people from Africa/Asia.

You can"t just "offload" a BTL flat anymore, people are wary of leasehold charges now , people can"t get mortgages, mortgages are more expensive and people don"t want to be landlords any more, who are they going to sell to? Landlords who bought a long time ago are probably dropping their asking price to lure in buyers but a lot of recent landlords with BTL debt are stuck IMO, anyway if they have not sold by now it is far too late, the legal changes kick in in a couple of weeks?