Here is a question for the blog clinic from Diana who is a tenant
I need a bit of advice regarding a tenancy agreement. I`ve signed a 6-month contract with some friends, but recently I had to give up living there due to health issues.
Let me tell you more about the situation: we rented a 2 bedroom flat in Canterbury for a period of 6 months, with a deposit of 1 month`s rent (£750). We are a mixed group of 2 recent graduates with local jobs and 2 students. The landlady treated us as couples for some reason and only thus only 2 people signed the contract (as couple “representatives”? I don`t t understand why.) However, due to a severe head cold, I cannot return for the last 2 months of tenancy and I happen to be one of the people on the contract (one of the graduates).
Is there any way I can get out of the tenancy agreement? Could you please tell me more about the law in such cases? Also, could you please explain if the landlady acted as she did and if that is completely legal as well.
Diana, there is nothing wrong with two out of four occupiers signing the tenancy agreement but it is a bit odd that your landlord should want it that way. If I were advising her as landlord, I would have advised her to put you all on so she would have more people to claim against at court if there was any default on the rent!
Most unfortunatly you are one of the two on the tenancy agreement. Had I been advising YOU at the time, I would have said that all the tenants should sign as it is unfair for just a few of you to be liable for them all.
If your colleages are able to make up the different in the rent or get in a lodger to pay your share, you mayb e all right. However you will be legally liable for the rent until either the tenants all move out and the tenancy ends, or until a new tenancy agreement is signed without you.
Note that when the fixed term ends, if the other tenants stay on, you will be able to end the tenancy (and your liability under it) by serving a tenants notice to quit.
You may find this blog post >> here helpful.
This is a classic example of ‘Amateur-itis. I am sure that the landlady is a decent person but has obviously been advised by ‘Dave down the pub’for reasons unknown that causes confusion for all.
There is absoutely no legal reason for the landlady acting as she has and as Tessa points out, she is leaving herself somewhat short into the bargain.
Landlord/Tenant law is phenomonally complex and yet the people who necessarily occupy that world are usually clueless about what they are getting into. Great for me and Tessa who earn our living with this stuff, not so great for landlords and tenants.
The government have this week finally acknowledged that housing is the cornerstone of economic recovery with the new housing strategy and yet the ground troops, the tenants and landlords usually know little of what is required of them
A “severe head cold” is stopping Diana from taking up occupation for the final two months of her tenancy? You will forgive me if I am (deeply) sceptical. It seems more likely that she just isn’t getting on with her roommate or someone else in the house and prefers to stay with dear sweet Mumsy who will plump up her pillows and bring her breakfast in bed. But whatever the reason for her non-return she will remain liable for her rent/her share of the rent until the fixed period of the tenancy comes to an end. Of course her housemates could seek a lodger but they might choose not to do so. Her roommate might be glad of the extra space. Diana might want to advertise for a lodger herself (eg on the spareroom.co.uk website and/or via her Uni’s accommodation officer) rather than relying upon her housemates to do so, but if she is indeed confined to bed with a beastly cold she will obviously need to rely on her housemates to show prospective lodgers around the property.
Is this nearly as bad as being trapped in a house that you don’t want anymore?:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-15842559
Students, ‘ey. What are they like?
Sorry, Chris, but I am telling the truth. My room was cold and damp and I have been known to have such health issues before. Now I am quite close to something akin to meningitis, so naturally I cannot go back to the conditions that triggered the reaction (as my doctor also advised). Of course, your reasoning is perfectly understandable as there are plenty of crooks out there, on both sides. However, I`ve known these people for years now, we get along quite well.
Thank you for your insight, Ben. The ‘Dave down at the pub’ bit does seem to match the situation. I thought maybe she declared only 2 out of 4 tenants so she would pay less tax or something.