I hope you can assist me on the current issue I have with my landlord.
Just to give you a bit of a background, been living on the property since July 2018 and always have paid the rent on time and never had any issues and we got along very well.
Our flat got flooded recently with sewerage water second time in a year (because of some neighbours flushing wet wipes, nappies etc which create a blockage on the sewage line and everything burst out in our apartment). Currently I have been temporary relocated by the insurer in a serviced apartment until the works are finish. The insurer is reimbursing me for my temporary accommodation and I continue to pay rent to the landlord even if I am not living there, which is fine as this is the agreed procedure.
The problem is that this incident happened twice in the past year and the property management said that there is nothing they can do about it, hence I have decided to serve my landlord a tenancy termination letter with a notice of 4-6 weeks depending on how quickly I can find a new safe place to rent.
Currently the property is still inhabitable and the insurer has no idea when the works will finish. Delays with materials, difficult to find contractors, etc. A week after I’ve served the notice to the landlord and still no acknowledgement received, he called me today (he lives in the US) and said that because I am terminating the lease earlier, I need to pay him 1 months-worth of rent which doesn’t seem legal to, as I have given him more than 1month notice and this because the property is destroyed and inhabitable which is a force majeure. Also, if I depart before the insurer finished repairing the property, the insurer will basically continue to pay to the landlord. At the same time the landlord wants me to pay him as well an extra month. Under normal circumstance I would have understood, but this is an exceptional situation as I am forced to leave because the property is inhabitable at the current stage and I don’t think that the below clause can apply anymore.
Obviously, the tenancy agreement doesn’t have a force majeure clause for this kind of situations.
It has been 3months now already and the property still has no carpet, flooring and walls are ripped off.
I would highly appreciate if you could offer some advice on this.
So, firstly. What the LL gets or doesn’t get from the insurer is not your concern. He has paid the insurance and makes a claim against this. It’s possible that he won’t get paid by the insurance for lost rent if you move out - you wouldn’t know that.
It is unfortunate that you have been inflicted by this. However, as long as the insurance company/LL pays for expenses and comparable accommodation then it is what it is.
Although I understand your predicament, and as a LL myself I would have released you, your LL has been generous enough to allow you to break your contract early for one month’s rent. This is assuming you are on an AST. If you are on statutory he can’t enforce this and shouldn’t.
If you are still in a fixed term tenancy then you are unable to serve a valid notice unless your tenancy agreement specifically gives you that right, which would be unusual. In that case the landlord doesn’t have to accept your notice and could insist you pay until the end of the contract. If he does allow you to leave, he can ask for the rent to be paid until a new tenant is in place and for any actual costs, (but no more) for the change of tenant.
If you are now in a periodic tenancy then notice should be specified in your tenancy agreement. By default its a minimum of one month and the notice must expire at the end of a tenancy period. If your notice is not valid then just serve a valid notice. If it is valid then the landlord can’t insist on any other payment.
Actually the LL doesn’t have insurance on the flat. The repairs and costs are covered by the property’s management insurer as the incident was neither my fault (tenant) neither landlords fault. The problem is that this is the 2nd time happening in 10months. The property management said that there is nothing they can do to stop this problem from reoccurring and that they cannot change people’s behaviour.
I am on a AST which is renewed every year. After the 12months, it falls into an SPT. My contract was due to expire in 3months but I want to move as this can happen anytime again. I just cannot live there anymore because of the stress caused by such incidents, having to take days off, packing/unpacking, damaged personal good. Each time the property has been deemed inhabitable after the incident as it was completely inundated with sewerage water.
The notice I have given to the landlord currently is 5 week which I think it is very reasonable and also offered my help to assist with viewings if he needs to find someone as he lives abroad, but he doesn’t care.
If it would have been under normal circumstances and I would just decided to move, then yes, I would have agreed with the 1month fee for early termination. In this instance I am doing this only because I don’t want to go through this again. I causes issues with my job as need to take days off, distress and fear that it can happen again anytime so I don’t understand how this clause can still apply. If he is looking for compensation, he should chase the property management and try to find out the neighbour that is causing this. Plus, apparently there is also because the pipes constructions is a bit fault (this a a new built 2015). It was not my fault and it seems that he is asking me to pay for it.
Also, there is no clause in the contract regarding a force majeure situation. This is an exceptional situation so I should be treated differently. How can I be liable to pay if I want to move when the property is inhabitable, this incident can reoccur anytime and nobody can guarantee it won’t.
Whilst you may feel that 5 weeks is reasonable notice, the law is not on your side. The landlord could insist you pay rent until the end of your fixed term. I suggest you negotiate. A reasonable landlord should allow you to leave, but we don’t know your landlords circumstances and it may not suit them to do so.
1: yes, the LL has insurance. He owns the flat and pays the service charge which in turn pays the nuilding insurance. As it’s a building insurance claim he won’t get anything for lost rent if he allows you to move out.
2: As you are in an AST (without break clause I presume) you can’t “give notice”. You have two choices, accept his offer or keep paying rent until the end of the AST.