Please help me am not sure what to with my landlords’ confusing offers.
I took in a tenancy as a limited company for guaranteed rent to the landlord and 3 months I was unable that get the right tenants he agreed within my contact and I asked my landlord if I could leave the contract he said no and took me to lawyers. I just wanted to start a conversation and get some help, it’s a 3yr tenancy. A month later after declining my notice he gave me an option by asking me for 5k up front to leave when the reason I wanted to leave is due financial difficulties. I told him I can’t afford his offers to give him compensation even if he takes me to court now.
I continued your explained that I don’t have the money and will have maxed out my saves by June and need to leave in July 2020 by fixed term is due October 2022.
This week managed to fill the house with all rooms. So I got back to him that I can now pay him the full rent but at the break clause in October 2020 I would be leaving because I longer want to do business with him. He has been threatening unreasonable and very intimidating towards me in a lot of our conversations I don’t want to work with such people.
Then he tells me either I leave now with all the tenants and I should pay a letting agent £500 to find him new tenants and he will keep my deposit as compensation for his loss.
I told him he is not keeping my deposit as the place is well looked after, I still pay all pays and pay him rent but am not making any profit so he can half his place back in October so I walk away with my deposit. He said no no no no, it’s a rent review not a break clause and if I don’t take his offer to leave next week he will take me to court.
He is happy to keep receiving my money but he wants to know by end of the Sunday if am moving out Sunday and I should pay him a further £3k after paying rent today and leaving the property.
What would you do?
I have spoken to a couple lawyers who are saying they can’t help me cos am a tenant in this case not a landlord.
Previous one said to get out the contract at whatever means but that was before place was fully tenanted.
Best to try the citizens advice bureau
Thank you Collin; I will try to email them or to contact them online as they are closed now and he wants an answer by Sunday evening
Go through your agreement very carefully. Highlight the statements that jump out at you. You may be able to quote back to him his own conditions. Do not panic - he cannot just throw you out or demand more from you unless the agreement indicates otherwise. And if he has the right to demand more from you, unless there is an interest or a penalty clause, then don’t pay him until you can afford to do so. Leave under the conditions stated in the agreement.
You may have to pay a solicitor to help you with the above - but don’t let the solicitor take on the case to ‘defend’ you as that will become money down the drain. Just get their initial help in identifying clearly what your rights and obligations are sufficiently well for you to have the confidence to know where you stand and to counter any demands made using the knowledge that you have gained from interacting with your solicitor. Take your time to ensure you do understand what is being said to you by the solicitor. It may cost you, yes, but the confidence of knowing exactly how you stand will be worth it.
Things that are not clear to me are:
- “I took in a tenancy as a limited company for guaranteed rent to the landlord”. Does that mean you have set up a limited company to find tenants for this person, or are you their tenant and you have set up a limited company to sublet with the landlord’s agreement in writing?
- “I was unable that get the right tenants he agreed within my contact”. Does this mean he agreed that if you can’t get tenants then the deal is off, so that you can leave with no costs involved, or does it mean that he has to agree what tenants can move in? In both cases he cannot take action against you, because with the last case he was responsible for the failure to get tenants in within three months.
- As you seem harassed by him, you can approach your local court for an injunction to stop him harassing you. By going to the court office you maybe able to get their unofficial advice on how to word your injunction request. You could always threaten to do that and it may stop further harassment.
- “it’s a rent review not a break clause” is easily decided on - what does it actually say in writing?
- “he will take me to court” is a bluff, a worthless threat, “as the place is well looked after, I still pay all pays and pay him rent”. He is likely to lose if he did!
Regarding “he wants to know by end of the Sunday if am moving out”: tell him that it is illegal for him to make you leave at this time due to new Covid19 rules (only true if you are his tenant, but don’t tell him that, make him find out for himself) and he will have to wait for the courts to tell you to leave. He may not know better, so simply state that he cannot make you leave by law while the Covid19 crisis is still occurring.
“As the place is well looked after, I still pay all pays and pay him rent” then you can tell him he does not have a leg to stand on, so stop harassing you, or you will take legal action against him, even if you won’t in practice.
If the above is of no help, then in the meantime, tell him you are looking into his demands and will come back to him when you are ready, without explaining yourself!
I hope these ideas reach you in time.
Waw John
This is really helpful thank you to much
I was panicking when I wrote this.
Yes am his tenant, he agreed for me to sublet in writing it’s the nature of my business and he is guaranteed rent.
I will respond to him as you suggested to buy myself time and I will get a lawyer to look at the agreement we made.
Then I plan to stop communicating with him.
Thank you so much this is gold.
It’s what I was thinking from what I know but when someone is constantly at you it’s difficult to think.
I have had space and distance from him to think now am clear.
Also for him to evict me he needs to serve with with
Section 8 or section 21 papers and he doesn’t done so. In court he has no leg to stand on.
I am not going anywhere but leaves a horrible taste in my mouth knowing this is the person he is and I will need to deal with him for another 2yrs.
I really appreciate your input
Have a great weekend
I hope whatever your agreement is with him gives you a clause to continue to benefit from finding him tenants even if you leave. If I were in his shoes, I would have said that you could have 10%, say, of their rent, the rent from those who you found to fill his rooms, until they leave regardless of when you left, so that you could continue with some income from your efforts if you left long before the other tenants did.
Take care, stop worrying, and only answer his calls when you feel strong enough to do so.
Thank you so much John45.