Landlord refusing to give back deposit

We asked for an continuation of our tenancy, for another 18 months, to which the landlord agreed. Now, six months later we've asked to end it because my parents can lend us the deposit for house.

The landlord agreed to us ending the tenancy 12 months early, but asked for a fee of £500 and said we wouldn't get our deposit back. At first we thought this was great as he was letting us off and we both signed a form that said we agreed. Now my mother says we are being ripped off. She has sent a letter to the landlord demanding that we get some of our money back, and if we don't she will go public.

What shall we do?

Did you sign a new lease for the 18 months?

The landlord is looking at this form of you breaking your lease (if it is a Fixed term) as a "buy-out" in which case he has the upper hand as it is you who wants to break the lease. Basically he has named his price which you seem to have agreed to.

You should have considered "assigning" the lease in which case, if you found a new tenant, you would have been able to get out of the lease and retain your deposit save for any damage beyond normal wear and tear.

Unfortunately, IMHO your mother does not have a leg to stand on in winning this case - the landlord has done nothing illegal, though taking advantage of your poor knowledge of the law. If you had known the law or been to Threshold and enquired, they would have enlightened you as to how to get out of a Fixed term lease.

However, if you did not sign a new lease you will have a Part 4 lease in which case you could break it by giving the landlord written notice with the required number of days notice, depending on the length of time you have been in the property.

Just a point on the legality of the document you signed - it should have been a Deed of Surrender - if it was not, it may not be valid.

janaj said:

..asked for a fee of £500.

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I note that your currency is pounds sterling, this is an Irish consumer website and if your question relates to Great Britain then there are probably other sites better able to answer your question.

Could also be that the person doesn't know how to bring up the euro (€) character. Just thought I'd add a little tip here in case it helps someone. To bring up the euro character, hold down Alt Gr and press the dollar ($) key.

I think facetious has summed it up rather well. What you should learn from this is to be weary of contracts and minimum lease agreements. It's hard to know how circumstances might change in the future. 18 months is a bit long for a lease agreement. In today's market, most landlords would probably settle for a shorter lease term if asked. It would give you more flexibility and you could ask to renew it should you need to stay longer.