Tenancy Agreement

The Basics

• The landlord agrees to let, and the tenant agrees to take the property and contents for the term of the rent

• The tenant pays the deposit to the landlord as security for the performance of the tenant’s obligations

• The tenant is solely liable for the payment of all charges for the supply of utilities such as gas, water, electricity, telephone, cable and TV licence related to the property during the entire duration of the lease. Some exceptions are made when the rent includes some of the charges and utilities on the property

• The tenant is responsible for keeping the interior of the property including decoration, fixtures, fittings and appliances in good repair and condition. An exception is accidental fire and anything the landlord Is responsible for under the tenancy agreement

• To allow the landlord/letting agents to enter the property to inspect the condition and carry out repairs 24 hrs notice to the tenant is required

• The tenant should use the property as their sole and principal home and not sublet the property to any third party

• The tenant should not allow anyone else to do anything to the property which may cause a nuisance, damage or annoyance to the tenants or neighbours or adjacent properties

• The tenant should not sublet or conduct any other business without the landlord’s consent

• Under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the landlord has an obligation to keep in good repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling house, including drains, gutters, and external pipes

• The landlord/letting agent should keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity and sanitation including baths, sinks, toilets and provide adequate heating and water

• It is not difficult to understand why tenants would want to leave their rental properties early.

• We are living in a constantly changing world. People’s situations can change overnight. This is why it is important for landlords to be a bit more understanding and merciful.

• There are several valid reasons as to why a tenant would seek to leave early:

• Emotional reasons such as a death in the family

• or an illness requiring a change of life style or assisting a family member in need should not be questioned.

• Instead landlords should help in the best way they can to ease their tenants’ pain and suffering, by allowing their tenants to move out stress free.

• It may be that you the tenants can no longer live in the property because the landlord refuses to undertake repairs that he is responsible for, consequently making life difficult for the tenants to live there as they are in fear of their health and safety.

• It could also be that a landlord’s rent increase forces tenants to move out because they can no longer afford the rent. No matter what your reasons are you will be in breach of the tenancy agreement

• You should approach your landlord or letting agent and have an honest discussion about the reasons for which you are leaving.

• Most landlords are ready to negotiate as it is in everyone’s interests to find a suitable solution which will benefit each side.

• The alternative to a peaceful approach will be time consuming, costly and stressful.

• In situations like these, you should look for a win-win situation. The landlord may have to lose substantial income by letting you go early and even lose more money by starting a search for a new tenant to replace you. Bear in mind that if the landlord has a mortgage then it will be difficult for him/ her to be over excited about the prospect of seeing you go without penalty.

• You may lose part or the full amount of your deposit. But if your move is inevitable that the sacrifice of losing your deposit would be the least of your concerns as you will have much more pressing matters to deal with.

• If the reason you want to leave is because the landlord is making things difficult for you to live in the property, then you should fight for the return of your full deposit. Bear in mind that you may have to leave without your deposit if the landlord refuses to return your deposit. You may have to take the landlord to court to recover your deposit and it may drag on for while.

• Even then you may lose your case if the landlord manages to convince the court that you have no grounds for your claim.

• You can, of course, leave the property. No one can physically stop you doing so. Simply write to the landlord and give the appropriate notice of your intention to leave. However, as you entered into a legally binding contract to pay rent for the property, you will remain committed to paying this rent until the agreement ends or your landlord begins letting the property to other tenants.

• The landlord can also take legal action against you and ask the court to order you to pay the rent for the period the property is vacant. When a new tenant moves into the property, your obligation to pay rent ends.

• You cannot walk away from the property if you are no longer satisfied with the conditions you are living in. Unfortunately, you are bound by a contract and will find with disappointment that there are consequences if you opt for this option. If by any means that is what you want to do then: invoke the break clause in the agreement, if there is one, get the landlord’s written permission to end the contract or attempt to prove that the landlord is in breach of the agreement and has failed to remedy that breach.

• Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot quit if you are not happy with your accommodation. If you are in a yearly contract you can end the tenancy at the end of your contract. But you must give your landlord notice well in advance. Usually one month’s notice is what is required, but I recommend giving 3 months which should enable you to get your act together and give the landlord enough time to organise his next tenant. But if you have a periodic tenancy i.e. (1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months) then you can serve a valid notice to quit (NTQ).

• The right to serve an NTQ applies only if you are in any type of periodic tenancy or licence, unless the tenant/licensee is an excluded occupier.

• If you want to quit, you must make you request in writing and the notice period must be at least:

• Four weeks, or if longer, equivalent to the period of the tenancy or licence (except for yearly periodic tenancies where the notice period is six months).

• Remember that once the NTQ (Notice to Quit) has been served, it cannot be withdrawn. Section 196 of the Law of Property Act 1925 allows for valid service of the NTQ (Notice to Quit) to be made by registered post, recorded delivery, or personal delivery, but only when the tenancy agreement explicitly states that service will be effective where it is done in accordance with section 196. Alternatively, the agreement can provide expressly for service by these methods.

• Section 196 also provides that, subject to the specific requirements of the tenancy agreement, notice must be served on the landlord or the letting agent at their last known abode or place of business. In the absence of a last known address, the property owner’s address on the Land Registry (where the landlord is the property owner) can be used for service.

• Where a tenancy agreement makes no reference to section 196 (or express provision for service by the methods set out in section 196) then under common law a tenant needs to serve the NTQ on the landlord personally or provide evidence that it has come to the landlord’s attention.[8] In practice, the tenant by producing a recorded delivery slip (or possibly a certificate of posting) will normally be able to prove service to the satisfaction of the court.

REMEMBER

• In most cases you can be lawfully evicted by your landlord without him obtaining a possession order if you remain in the property after your NTQ (Notice to Quit) expires. However, the landlord will need to obtain a possession order to do so.

• If you still occupy the property without the landlord's permission after you have served the NTQ, (Notice to Quit) you may be liable to pay rent and the rent can be doubled.

• An NTQ (Notice to Quit) can only be served to end a periodic tenancy. An NTQ (Notice to Quit) served by a tenant during the fixed-term of a tenancy will be invalid. It will not end the tenancy even if the notice period expires after the expiry of the fixed term.

• The exception is if the agreement contains a break clause that allows for early termination. In this case the notice given must comply with the conditions set out in the agreement.

• An NTQ (Notice to Quit) served on only one of the joint landlords is sufficient to end a periodic joint tenancy.

• An NTQ (Notice to Quit) served by only one joint tenant is sufficient to end a periodic tenancy (or licence) for all joint tenants. It is not necessary for any other joint tenant to consent or have knowledge of the service of the notice.

• The courts have held that one joint tenant unilaterally serving an NTQ (Notice to Quit) does not breach the rights of the joint tenant who did not serve the notice.