Leaving accommodation early

Hello,

I’m leaving uni and moving out from my flat 3 months early. I’m not gonna pay the outstanding rent and let them have the deposit. What can the landlord do about it?

Reply 1

StriderHort

They can take you to court to recover the debt and would almost certainly win given the contract. The short answer is you cannot use your deposit to pay your rent as you don't control that money any more, and whether you were due your deposit back is a separate tenancy matter.

Reply 2

DevonCoca

Original post by StriderHort

Agreed, it’s just whether they’ll bother to go to court for 3 months rent when they have the deposit.

Reply 3

StriderHort

Original post by DevonCoca

Agreed, it’s just whether they’ll bother to go to court for 3 months rent when they have the deposit.

The trouble is no one can really answer that for you, different people and companies have different attitudes to loss and recovery, some are absolutely bloody minded.

Have you already tried to get out of the lease and been told no?

Reply 4

DevonCoca

Original post by StriderHort

The trouble is no one can really answer that for you, different people and companies have different attitudes to loss and recovery, some are absolutely bloody minded.
Have you already tried to get out of the lease and been told no?

No but I think industry standards are pretty clear that they require you to find someone else to take over the lease.

Do you know if they could charge my other flat mates more if I don’t pay?