renting a house?

Question

My hubby and i have signed a shorthold tenancey contract for 12 months. Can we leave earlier or do we have to stay until the end of the contract as we want to buy a house? please any sensible answers are welcome

Answer 1

There will possibly be a "break clause" in the tenancy agreement which allows you to leave after 6 months (with the appropriate notice of course).

If there is a break clause and you hand in your notice more than a month before the end of the first 6 months, you will be responsible for tenancy obligations (including payment of rent) until the 6 month point. If you serve notice after the first 6 months, you will be responsible to the end of your notice period.

If there is no break clause, you will be responsible until the end of the 12 months.

However, if you explain the situation to your Landlord, he/she will most likely be more than happy to remarket the property straight away and get a new tenant in. As soon as a new tenancy takes effect, you are released from your obligations under your agreement.

Answer 2

If you leave earlier the land lord is entitled to ask you to pay the full amount owning to the end of the 12 month term.

However, talk to your land lord, explain the situation and see what would be acceptable to them. Offer to give them 2 to 3 months notice, with a clause that you will be able to vacate within a week if they find suitable tenants to take over from you.

Giving them this long as notice allows them optimum marketing time to advertise the property for tenants.

As you want to buy a house I presume that you are not in a position to complete on the purchase. The whole house buying process could take 3 months from offer to completion so this will take you closer to the end of your contract.

Open up dialogue and try to reach common ground, I am sure this is possible

Answer 3

You can definitely leave earlier. Its only a question of what are the exit criterias negotiated in your contract. Some of these are:

Is there a lock-down period defined in your contract? Usually, in a well-negotiated contract for a 12-month tenancy there is a lock-down period of 3-months.

You are allowed to leave anytime after this lock-down period by giving the owner a 1-month notice that you willbe vacating the place.

If there is no lock-down period defined, then it is defaulted to 12 months in which case you will need to pay the penalty for breech of contract. The penalty for early exit is usually set to 1-month's rent. This is to basically allow the owner to find for a new tenant without loss of income.

If neither of these are negotiated in yor contract, then simply have an open discussion with your owner and use the above criteria as guidelines for negotiations. You will find that most owners will agree to these terms as they are fair for both parties.

Word of advice - do not settle for a penaly which is anythng more tthan 1-months rental and 1-month notice.

Answer 4

Assured short-hold tenancies (ASTs) can be 6 months. You did not need to sign up for 12 months. The key to a smooth negotiation is to find a new & suitable replacement tenant and so ensure that the landlord does not lose any money in the process. Try to work with the landlord to achieve this. Respect his rights & his commercial objectives as a landlord.

Alternatively, buy somewhere "occupy" one room & let out individual rooms (with a license rather than an AST) to cover the cost of your mortage until you are in a position to move in.

Answer 5

Discuss this with your landlord. He may be willing to work out a deal with you to terminate your tenancy early. He will likely want some compensation for this -- one or two months worth of rental payments is pretty common -- but you won't know until you ask.

If your landlord isn't keen on this keep in mind that you can be held liable for the rents for the entire term of the tenancy. In fact, most are written for the total value of the rents for the term payable in monthly payments. For example, if your rent is £500.00 per month for 12 months, your contract is probably for £6,000.00, payable in 12 equal monthly installments.

Also keep in mind that it typically can take several months to complete the home purchase process. If you start your search when your tenancy has 3 or 4 months left to run you should close on your new home around the time that your tenancy expires. At the very least, you'd minimise your losses for early termination of the tenancy!

Answer 6

Re-read your contract to be sure but i think you will have to stay the full twelve months. That's why you sign the contract, so your landlord can't kick you out and so you can't leave without giving them enough money.

You may be able to get out of it by finding a replacement for yourselves, or paying the total for the year and then leaving but that's at your landlord's discretion and they are both inconvenient options. Next time if you are unsure, sign a 6 month contract and then renew it if you need the house for longer.

Answer 7

I have worked in property management for about three years . Some states allow you to break a lease for the purchase of a home. I know that for renters in Florida you cannot break the lease, legally. However, if you are renting from a company like Watson and you want to purchase a home from Watson then the probability of breaking the lease is pretty good.. It never hurts to ask.

Answer 8

Not really - if your landlord decided to get picky about it, he could insist that you pay up to the end of the lease whether you stay or not.

Most landlords are happy enough if you give them plenty of notice. Maybe offer 2 rather than the normal 1 month.

Answer 9

I would talk to the landlady, they might say that if you find them another tenant you can break the contract, but unless they are very generous I think there's little other way of getting out of it. Good luck.

Answer 10

With most leases once you give notice of leaving one month in advance (if that's the frequency you pay rent) there's no problem, and you should get deposit back. I'd check with your landlord though, some require more notice to get new tenents in.