UK Landlord Forum / Life

We were released from our two year rental contract early by the landlord and all was agreed and approved by the letting agent. However, new tenants due to move in cancelled after we had moved out and completed the checking out process. The letting agent and landlord are now denying they they did release us from the contract and are pursuing the rent until new tenants are found. We, on the other hand, are pursuing our deposit that they agreed to release after checkout.

The evidence we have for the LL releasing us from our contract is a telephone call from the letting agent (recoreded by the letting agent) saying that the LL agrees to release us. A seperate email from the LL confirming our departure and wishing us well and thanking us for being good tenants. We also have emails from the letting agent stipulating how much we need to pay them and to the landlord i.e paying rent up until the 19th April when the new tenants were to move in. There was also a phone call from the estate agent(recorded by the estate agent - and we have this in writing that all pone calls are recorded by them), confirming when the checkout company would come to do the checkout.

There were no terms and conditions set out based upon this early release and certainly no mention of what are liability would be if the new tenants would cancel.

So as far as we were concerned our obligation ended when the checkout was completed and no problems were found. We just had to pay rent up until the new tenants move in date of 19th April. There were no conditions of whether they actually moved in or not. It was simply put that our financial obligations were up until the 19th April, and our deposit would cover the last months rent. We had already paid the other fees for early release.

Is this a gross misunderstanding on our part and that actually because the prospective tenants did not actaully move in, our obligation reverts back to the original conditions of the lease in that we have to continue to pay rent until new tenants are found? Or because the LL and letting agency had viewed that the prospective tenants were going to move in, and therefore continued with our checkout process and accepted our payment of fees etc, that we had fulfilled our side of the conditions, and the risk of the prospective tenants cancelling was not our risk to take, but was now the risk of the LL and letting agency as if it was the start of any new potential tenancy?

Hi Bungleboy,

You've been quite unlucky in this situation. The agent should of got the new tenants to sign the new AST before you left and made you sign a deed of surrender which is a legal document formally relieving you of your obligations to the property/tenancy. Do you recall signing anything like that?
I have never experienced this going the way it has with you so unfortunately can't advise what the best thing to do is. All I know is that without the deed of surrender you are still legally tied to that tenancy and therefore responsible for rent, utilities etc...
If anyone thinks or knows anything different, I'd be interested to read it.
When is the 2 year term up?
If the LL took you to court due to breach of contract I don't know if the emails, phones calls (if they are recovered) or the fact that you have paid fees to the agent to break the contract would stand up!? But until this is resolved, you won't get your deposit back. As far as they are concerned the tenancy has not finished. Im sorry I can't be more positive