Serious dilemma re rent payments
Will try and make this as brief as possible. Basically I signed for a contract about six months ago for a 2 bedroom flat with my friend, however have now decided to move back to London as I have lost my job in Leeds (where the flat is) and have no money to live off in the meantime, also job centre is refusing to help as my uni course has not ''officially'' ended and I'm therefore not eligible for benefits. I haven't signed a guarantor form but have signed a tenancy agreement, I'm going to go to the landlord's tomorrow but basically wondering if anyone has experience/advice as there's no way I can afford to pay rent (first payment due next month) and my parents are unable to help, how likely are the landlords to agree to 'surrender' the contract/readvertise if I explain my situation? Feel so stupid to have got myself into this any advice would be good!x
The landlord will not care about your circumstances.
You have signed a contract and are legally responsible for the rent for 6 months.
Your only chance of getting out of this is if YOU find a tenant to take over your contract. The landlord will not lift a finger. If you cannot find one and default on the contract the landlord will take you to court and, without a doubt, will win.
You will then be liable for the rent, the court costs and the bailiffs bills as they chase you for the debt.
Either find a tenant, a job or a way to pay.
You have signed a contract and are legally responsible for the rent for 6 months.
Your only chance of getting out of this is if YOU find a tenant to take over your contract. The landlord will not lift a finger. If you cannot find one and default on the contract the landlord will take you to court and, without a doubt, will win.
You will then be liable for the rent, the court costs and the bailiffs bills as they chase you for the debt.
Either find a tenant, a job or a way to pay.
I have no experience in this, but based upon the information given, and logical thinking, the above poster seems correct (if not a little blunt).
Landlord cares about cash, so unless you know him/her personally, or they owe you a favour, they will just be thinking in terms of cash. Your best bet is to find someone else, and even then the landlord might not agree as they will need to check their previous rental history, etc.
That being said, my mate rented out his flat and a boy paids 2 months rent, then one day the rent didn't come and so my mate went to his flat to check and the boy had just boosted. He had the boys name and mobile number, but not much else. He couldn't be arsed with the hassle of trying to track him down so he cut his losses and found a new tennent. Maybe your land lord will do the same - risky manoeuvre, though.
Landlord cares about cash, so unless you know him/her personally, or they owe you a favour, they will just be thinking in terms of cash. Your best bet is to find someone else, and even then the landlord might not agree as they will need to check their previous rental history, etc.
That being said, my mate rented out his flat and a boy paids 2 months rent, then one day the rent didn't come and so my mate went to his flat to check and the boy had just boosted. He had the boys name and mobile number, but not much else. He couldn't be arsed with the hassle of trying to track him down so he cut his losses and found a new tennent. Maybe your land lord will do the same - risky manoeuvre, though.
He can pursue you for longer than that. It is only 6 years with no contact.
Original post by cloclomarie93
Will try and make this as brief as possible. Basically I signed for a contract about six months ago for a 2 bedroom flat with my friend, however have now decided to move back to London as I have lost my job in Leeds (where the flat is) and have no money to live off in the meantime, also job centre is refusing to help as my uni course has not ''officially'' ended and I'm therefore not eligible for benefits. I haven't signed a guarantor form but have signed a tenancy agreement, I'm going to go to the landlord's tomorrow but basically wondering if anyone has experience/advice as there's no way I can afford to pay rent (first payment due next month) and my parents are unable to help, how likely are the landlords to agree to 'surrender' the contract/readvertise if I explain my situation? Feel so stupid to have got myself into this any advice would be good!x
Your landlord can only take you to court for reasonably foreseeable losses caused by your breach of contract or to order specific performance.
I assume that by the time this gets to court the tenancy will have finished anyway so specific performance is not an issue.
This means that if you cancel the tenancy and stop paying rent you can only be liable for payments due up to the point where it can be said that the landlord should reasonably have been able to find a new tenant.
For this reason I suggest you seek legal advice for a solicitor (if you can get one to give you enough information before demanding fees or citizens advice) and then inform your landlord of your situation as soon as possible.
Just before everyone else jumps on the bandwagon lets take a step back and actually consider what a court will seek to do:
- Restore both parties to the position they were in before the contract was made
- Cover any losses incurred.
People also have a duty to attempt to limit loss before and during court action. Therefore I would expect a court to find in your landlord's favour however only for the amount of loss they incurred. If they found a new tenant within a month.. you'd only be liable for that month's rent.
Similarly, I'd argue that if the landlord made no effort to find new tenants upon knowing you were unable to fulfill the contract; they had not attempted to limit their loss and this could be seen negatively by the court.
OP - It is unlikely anyone on this forum will be experienced or know the exact legal process for tenancy surrender and compensation. You would be better off asking on other more specialised forums. There is an excellent user on a forum for Money Saving Experts who will be able to give you the legal specifics.
- Restore both parties to the position they were in before the contract was made
- Cover any losses incurred.
People also have a duty to attempt to limit loss before and during court action. Therefore I would expect a court to find in your landlord's favour however only for the amount of loss they incurred. If they found a new tenant within a month.. you'd only be liable for that month's rent.
Similarly, I'd argue that if the landlord made no effort to find new tenants upon knowing you were unable to fulfill the contract; they had not attempted to limit their loss and this could be seen negatively by the court.
OP - It is unlikely anyone on this forum will be experienced or know the exact legal process for tenancy surrender and compensation. You would be better off asking on other more specialised forums. There is an excellent user on a forum for Money Saving Experts who will be able to give you the legal specifics.
Original post by cloclomarie93
Will try and make this as brief as possible. Basically I signed for a contract about six months ago for a 2 bedroom flat with my friend, however have now decided to move back to London as I have lost my job in Leeds (where the flat is) and have no money to live off in the meantime, also job centre is refusing to help as my uni course has not ''officially'' ended and I'm therefore not eligible for benefits. I haven't signed a guarantor form but have signed a tenancy agreement, I'm going to go to the landlord's tomorrow but basically wondering if anyone has experience/advice as there's no way I can afford to pay rent (first payment due next month) and my parents are unable to help, how likely are the landlords to agree to 'surrender' the contract/readvertise if I explain my situation? Feel so stupid to have got myself into this any advice would be good!x
You could apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment at the Local Council which is a pot of funding they have for people struggling to pay their rent but there's no guarantee you will be granted the payment. If you're not even going to be living there, then you're probably not going to have a strong case.
I'm a landlord. Believe me they'll go for you.
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