Tenant breaking fixed term lease

sams1

Registered User
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Can a tenant choose to break a fixed term one year lease when they are 7 months into the lease? The lease does not have a break clause. Thanks
 
Simple answer - not worth your while arguing.

It's a landlords market at present you'll have no difficulty getting a new tenant
 
Yep, you can take a complaint to the RTB (who are very much pro-tenant), and you may get an order in your favour. Enforcing that order will be another matter entirely though.
 
Hi as leo and Vanessa said Be happy get some decent tenants in and forget about the the Tenant enablers in RTB
 
Thanks all. Unfortunately given the current crisis it looks like I won't have a new tenant for a while and likely rent will have to come down. I would consider selling but I'd say house prices will also drop now too.
 
If your tenant had stayed they would probably have not been able to afford the rent for this month (and next 2 possibly) so i would nt think yourself been out of pocket. Plus you couldn't evict so sounds to me like a result and fair play to your tenants for not taking the proverbial.
 
Tenant is moving to a different rental property. They gave 35 days notice and are due to vacate this weekend. They advised this evening that they're still leaving this weekend but cannot get a removal company to move furniture so they want to leave their furniture until after the lockdown but don't want to extend their contract or pay additional rent as they are already paying rent for their new property. I have a potential new tenant due to view the house this week. Can I withhold current tenant's deposit if their furniture prevents me from starting a new rental? What happens if the furniture is accidentally damaged after their official rental period?
 
Sam you need to be very careful. Do everything by the book. Contact the RTB in writing. Contact an organisation I’m a member of for advance. IPOA. They keep sending me emails about current stricter measures imposed on landlords.

Any chance the tenants would stay on if you reduced your rent. I’d highly advice it.
 
Yep, you can take a complaint to the RTB (who are very much pro-tenant), and you may get an order in your favour. Enforcing that order will be another matter entirely though.
Going to tge RTB is a complete waste of time if you’re a landlord. Hassle and grief for a worthless order. Best avoided.
 
The tenant has already committed to another lease elsewhere so they won't be staying on, even if we offered a lower rent. Do I need to join and pay annual subscription to get advice from IPOA? Thanks
 
I would presume they’d be leaving furniture at their own risk. Is there a shed it can be stored in? How much furniture is there/what type of items?
 
Seems like pretty much all their larger items - beds, mattresses, living and dining room furniture. I can only assume new place must be furnished and they're planning to put their current furniture into storage....but using my house as free storage until after lockdown....
 
Ah that’s really not on. Did you rent it unfurnished?
This emergency could go on for a long time. I’d be very clear that the tenancy is still in place while their belongings are still on your property. While there may be an issue getting a removal company (though I would assume an essential service?!) car/van hire companies are definitely still operating
 
Yes it was rented unfurnished. I provided contact details for a local man with a van. I'm not feeling any sense of urgency on their side. We've been good to them throughout the tenancy and I think there was just an assumption that we wouldn't have an issue with this. Disappointing that they left it to the last minute on a bank holiday weekend to tell us.
 
Find out the forwarding address. Book the man with a van. Deliver the items. Deduct the cost from deposit. Sorted!
Whatever the outcome I’d be putting my foot down now. Very unfair for them to expect you to accommodate their belongings
 
Going to tge RTB is a complete waste of time if you’re a landlord. Hassle and grief for a worthless order. Best avoided.

It is, but on the positive side, decisions are published. All landlords should search the archive for the names of potential tenants, and I'd advise avoiding taking on any where a previous landlord took a case against them regardless of outcome.
 
I think I would follow Luckystar's advice...hire a van and get the furniture out and deduct the cost from their deposit. Inform them of that immediately. Unless they pay rent they can't expect you to store their furniture. If they used a storage company they'd haven't pay a fee so why should you do it for nothing and besides, you'll need to clear the place for a new tenant. It completely unreasonable of them. Be firm and issue them with an ultimatium.
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