Hi there. I had a tenant send me an email informing me of their wish to move out in February (6th). I requested an extra week, as I was out of the country, they said they would try.
I advertised with OpenRent and have a new Tenant wanting to move in March 1st. Now the sitting tenants are struggling to get into their new place and are trying to stall for a week or two more. Putting my new tenancy in jeopardy.
What is the next move??
this is why I never advertise until the existing tenant has left. Otherwise you can stitch yourself up
I agree with Colin. However, did the tenant serve a valid Notice to Quit? Is this a periodic tenancy?
Don’t panic
It’s called contract frustration in the legal world
It’s happened a lot because of the pandemic
As long as your tenant is definitely going just apologise to incoming ones and they have to move later than expected
They shall also have to delay their move
If the contract is already signed the incoming tenants still have to pay rent in law so
Just make sure your tenants are definitely going and not
We had this a lot with the academic change over in the pandemic
Hi there, I have the notice, two months in advance of the date as a formal email. They have completed 18 months of a two year, shorthold tenancy agreement
They normally have to do the term of the ast unless there is a break clause
Are they sticking for another six months?
No, they wanted to end it early
here is some of the contract
“To end the contractual continuation tenancy the required notice is written notice to the other party. The notice must end on the last day of a rental period and must be of sufficient length. This means that for tenancies that run on as weekly, fortnightly or four weekly, the notice period must be at least 28 days in length. Where the tenancy is for monthly rental periods the notice must be at least one calendar month in length.”
That normally refers to the periodic element of the contract ( the default if the AST is not renewed)
They are still in the AST which means they should stay for 24 months unless you permit it
If you do permit it I would advise a deed of surrender as they are surrendering tenancy and that is at your discretion
They are liable for the term of six months if they vacate early
Have you informed them that you have another tenant booked to move in?
Obviously even if you have informed them you cannot rely on them moving out on time.
Perhaps mention it and see their reaction.
As you have released them early at your discretion you need to replace them ASAP.
As others have said, you are entitled to ask for the additional rent for the remainder of the contract, (or until a replacement could be found) and I believe you are also entitled to pass your costs of doing so onto them.
You could point that out to them but guess still dodgy if the day comes and they are still sitting there in all their glory.
Its a slightly tricky situation since they had no right to serve notice to end the fixed term of the tenancy early. Their email would therefore be an offer to surrender rather than a formal Notice to Quit. How did you respond to this offer?
How much time do you need inbetween the different tenants?
If you point out to the existing tenants that they are liable for the next 6 months rent unless you find a replacement tenant, and that you have found a replacement tenant requiring occupation 1st March. I would expect the existing tenants to do all that they can to be out by 28th Feb or before and also that the property is in a fit state to rent out again. (even if this means them moving to a hotel+storage).
I was thinking of agreeing to sign a deed of release on the 22nd of the month, so they get release when they move out. Otherwise I could look to recover costs and outstanding rent through the courts. I checked the contract and it has no break clause. They can request and I have to formally agree
No one really wants to go to court! I am grateful that I had an AST still running
As Colin said, I think I will wait until a tenant moves out before advertising next time 
This is my email today!
Once the deed of surrender is signed they have to move out
You can’t sign it in advance, that is not how they work
You recover costs in advance of signing
This is at your discretion not theirs. They have to meet your terms before they depart otherwise they are liable for rent and legal costs in recuperation ( that depends on your contract)
Under the distress for rent act of 1737 you can charge double rent on a daily basis if the tenant is not honouring their notice if departure
Not well known as a law I found this on Landlord Laws website
The tenant must have served a valid notice to depart