Updating post from Reddit.
I'm 4 months into a 12 months fixed tenancy with 6 months paid upfront. The Tennant is having mobility issues with the stairs and wants to move into a bungalow. I'm sympathetic to this so agreed to end it at 6 months. He's now found somewhere and wants to end it at 4 months and get a refund for the 2 months he's paid upfront.
I think I'm being more than fair to end it at 6 months? When I could keep the full 12 months. Am I unreasonable to not offer a refund even if he's moved out next month?
I'm using the standard open rent agreement with the 6 months up front and a 4 month break clause.
Thanks.
I would tell them you'll refund them as soon as you find new tenants. So if you manage to find tenants within 1 month, you'll charge them for the empty period and refund them the remaining months rent.
That’s exactly what we’ve done a couple of times.
This is the right approach
This is what I always do too.
That is the best and personable plan. people wonder why landlords get a bad rep. No humanity at all with op.
Hang on, this tenant happily found and took on a tenancy with stairs. Why does ‘humanity’ come into it? Perhaps the landlord should have been more supportive and shown some humanity and refused this tenant on the grounds of, “weve got stairs mate. Sorry”. ???????
Tell me your a cunt without telling me.
We have literally zero idea what’s going on here with the tenant you judgmental prick.
What about tenant find and covering the repeat cycle referencing, credit checks etc? I think OPs 6 month agreement was pretty fair myself.
Why should tenants pay for that? Im a landlord BTW.
Because they committed to a 12 month tenancy and now the tenant wants to break the contract. 🤷♀️
The LL has no obligation to release them from their 12 months fixed term. The landlord would only be incurring costs for a new tenant at the end of the fixed term which is a year down the line.
The landlord, if he agreed to ending the tenancy early, has to find new tenants 6 months before he had anticipated costs to do so, run credit checks, rights to reside etc, set up new ASTs, redo inventorys and still be at risk of an additional void period, as this tenant is unbelievably is wanting out yet refusing access for viewings.
The question here is, why on earth do you think the landlord should let them off their tenancy and then pick up all the costs of replacing them??????
The disability issue is irrelevant here, as the landlord clearly cant discriminate against anyone with disabilities and the tenant took on the property clearly satisfied it suited his needs. It was so suitable, he signed up for a 12 month contract.
Why should they pay for your admin? Im not talking about anything else.
I bet your tenants love your belligerence
You choose to reference, you choose the credit checks, thats your expense.
😱 Youre a landlord? Pull the other one. You do know what legal requirements landlords have to meet dont you? Dear lordy.
I hope you have end up with shit tenants.
yes I do, but the whole point of the law change was to move the cost of ‘admin’ over to the landlord or agent!! It doesnt cost that much you skinflint. What a vile person you are. And Yes I am a Landlady!!!
Also minus off any admin fees etc
"admin" fees?? 🙄🙄
As in relating fees as other commenters have stated. It costs money to re-let
Yes, those costs are passed onto the new tenant, in their "admin" fees, not the old one too.
As said I meant I meant as many other commenters have said. I lost money when changing tenant and if breaking the lease normally also incurs fees etc.
Not sure why so bad to say!
Personal opinion I would let them go subject to recovering void period on a cost basis and relet fee (if you used agent). If the flat gets let quickly no hassle I might let go up to half a month of rent but if the void is longer than that I will pass on the costs.
I feel you’re already being kind in letting them leave after 6 months and therefore absorbing all the fees involved in finding a new tenant. I’d not give the 2 months refund
Seconded.
Thirded.
Fourthed
You can’t been paid by a new tenant and the old tenant. So if they vacate and you find a tenant at month 5, you’d have to refund a month. I would also seek official advice, pretty sure the NRLA will give you proper advice. People may come to an arrangement with the tenant about still paying until re-let, but as soon as you take back possession of the property you can’t be charging them. So unless you just leave it vacant until month 6 you’d be refunding them. Again, what you can agree between you and tenant is fine, but if the tenant wants to argue the case that’s what they can refer to.
Honestly, sign up to NRLA and ask them these things, you get 1 answer from a trusted source you can save and refer to if ever needed. Rather than 20 opinions of varying degrees of quality of landlords.
If they pay for the letting costs, and the new tenant moves in before the 6 months then offer to refund the difference. It’s unlikely they’ll be anything left to refund.
Tally up the costs of reletting, lost rental, fees, price it all up. Once you have new tenants in place then you can settle the account.
The costs will be significant so can’t see how a refund would be possible. I’ll be sending a bill.
So they paid you 6 months upfront and lived there for 2 months?
As I remember the OpenRent agreement do offer a 4 months break clause. For Tenant it is to notify LL at the end of the 4th month using their notifying period (1 or 2months for tenant I don’t remember) so even if it is just one month notice you just need to refund the 6th month. Check the contract how much time the tenant needs to give you first.
Nope the opening sentence says 4 months into a 12 month tenancy.
Yes. But tenant found somewhere and want to end at the 4th month.
Hi, yes I understand.
It was just that you said they had paid for 6 months and lived there for two months when in fact they have lived there for four months
[deleted]
I haven’t agreed anything yet officially as it keeps changing.
First we discussed ending it at 6 months so we could both find alternatives. Now he’s saying he wants it ended essentially today when I’ve not even had a chance to put it on the market as he’s refusing to let the agents in unless I agree to the refund.
In England btw.
As others have said, tenant should cover rent up until the time a new tenant takes over, and also cover your re-letting costs.
This changes things, this is blackmail now and any sympathy you had for them, I'd take back and put your foot down. It's unlikely they will stay and not leave as they are having issues with mobility. This makes me mad, people getting horrible and using blackmail. No way, stick to the 6 months now.
You have been fair by allowing the tenant to terminate the tenancy at 6 months.
What the tenant is not considering is that, were the tenancy to have continued to it's 12 month term, you would have commenced marketing the property at month 10 and likely secured new tenants so minimize your void periods.
Many landlords have a mortgage and can't afford to have prolonged void periods.
What I will recommend is that you start marketing immediately & inform the tenant in writing that should you find a tenant willing to start the tenancy before the 6 months is up, you are happy to refund the difference. Otherwise, they would not receive a refund.
If they do not move out by the end of 6 months, that offer to terminate at 6 months becomes void and their tenancy continues as normal until/unless a new agreement is reached.
Ideally this should be documented and signed by both parties on a deed of surrender.
Its purely down to goodness of heart really. But Tenants are not responsible for your mortgage, thats between you and your mortgage company as signed agreement.
That is true. Tenants are not responsible for a landlord's mortgage.
They are however responsible for honouring the terms of their tenancy contract. It is a contract after all.
If a tenant then wants to vary the terms of a contract, the landlord has every right to factor in how this will affect his/her own financial obligations before doing anything out of the goodness of their heart, if at all.
Especially seeing as mortgage companies won't waive their expected monthly payments out of the goodness of their hearts.
Agree on condition new Tennant is found, then refund the difference - minus any fee’s. That’s more than fair
Sorry tad confused. If you have a break clause at 4 months and the Tennant has active this shouldn't you be returning any cash for any future months?
In this situation I'd be likely to let it slide and just take the hit. The reality is your likely going to get it let again soon enough and as others have pointed out if you find a Tennant at month 5 you will have to then return anything left over to the prior Tennant before reletting.
It's going to be a pain to mess around and your going to have a very irked person living within the home with no real recourse to force them out prior to month 6.
In the short run you lose 2 months rent, in the short run they are paying likely 2 properties worth of rent and clearly are already in a vulnerable situation.
If it was me I'd let them off and sleep better at night, it not the financially savvy thing to do but I imagine your asking for advice as you already know the right answer.
How quickly can you re-let ?
I would say until I manage to rent out you will pay for the rent that’s why we tenancy agreements sorry for there situation but if it was you trying to get them move out early they would not be happy
Jeez just refund them ffs. Be an actual human here
I think what you have offered is fair, I’d be inclined to make them awear you’ve been reasonable by letting them end tenancy early, as you wouldn’t wish them to lose there new bungalow, but at the same time this shouldn’t effect you financially. So you’ll happily refund any full weeks the property isn’t empty. If it takes 6 weeks for a new tenant to move in you’ll refund 2 weeks something like that maybe ?
If you are really sympathetic to their mobility issues, do the right thing and refund the 2 months.
I’ve attempted to do so. But there a fairly large hit on these 2 additional months as I need to find the money to refund all while the flat isn’t even on the market as he’s refusing to let the agents in for pictures today unless I agree to the refund.
I just posted above that I would do the refund, but if he is playing games over the viewings then I'd tell him to take a hike on principle! I don't like to be blackmailed.
This. Glass houses and throwing stones!
Sounds like they are hoping to use the 2 months as their next deposit and upfront rent...
Good observation. I think you’re right.
He clearly had no issue finding and taking on your property with stairs OP, and this is simply that a better option has come up amd he fancies moving.
You agreeing a 6 month break in a 12 month tenancy is absolutely fair, and youre right that he needs to cooperate and allow access for viewings if that is going to happen. If hes refusing access until he leaves the property, then you may have to withdraw your offer of a 6 month break. Refused access means a further void period hes expecting you to stump up for.
Interestingly that’s exactly what an agent said earlier today. Fancies moving.
Or, somethings changed physically. When I moved into my house I was running up the stairs like a 10 year old. Then I was diagnosed with arthritis and now I can barely get up the stairs. The change from running up the stairs to barely being able to get up them was less than a year.
What? How condescending.
You don't treat people differently based on disability. Thats discrimination
The tenant wants to break their tenancy early at a potential cost to the landlord.
They signed a contract and are now trying to blackmail them. That's not how it works.
Of course you should refund now, be decent.
I would refund the 2 months - it’s the right thing to do. The tenant has mobility Issues.
I'm attempting to do the right thing by ending it early at 6 months as he originally requested. Now I need to find the 2.5k to refund an additional 2 months plus of course the loss I'll take while it's not rented as it's not being advertised yet as this is all last minute.
You e already done the right thing in agreeing an early termination. If the tenant wants an even earlier termination, they need to move out, let you re-let and you should refund them any of the 6 month period where the property is re-let out of the money from that new tenant. The current tenant obviously needs to a) allow you to market asap and b) wait until you re-let to see what they are entitled to back.
This is really straight forward.
It doesn’t sound from this that you have sufficient funds if there was to be an issue such as boiler failure. Are you sure you have refunds for repairs?
What? And OP forced him into his ‘with stairs’ property? 🤯 Tenant clearly found this property and was very happy it was suitable.
Guess what would have happened if OP had refused him based on his disability and “Ive got stairs mate. Sorry”