Renewing tenancy agreement when we may move

Hello,

Not been around in awhile, but I am back because we are a little lost on what to do and I thought maybe you guys could help.

We moved into this house last december, found out the landlord wants to sell in may or so of '08, and our tenancy agreement was up in June. EA is useless, sent the new agreement well after the previous one had gone up (which means we are now month-to-month currently).

Since then, dh has been looking for a new job, as we were informed his job is definitely being relocated, likely sometime next year but either way dh is wanting out. It's very likely that this new job will take him out of this part of the country, however we don't know when.

We are hoping November, or after Christmas. If we sign a new tenancy agreement now, giving our one months notice, then they cannot ask us to pay for the remainder of the tenancy, am I correct? There is nothing in the new agreement to say that we would, so I can only assume that if they did try that it is not enforceable.

I ask because EA said no to a month-to-month tenancy agreement with a one month notice to move out, even though the landlord himself had said after December he wanted to have us go to month-to-month, so I know she is unilaterally making decisions w/o consulting him.

DH doesn't want to sign a 6 month contract if we are going to move out in 2, or 4, and could get stuck having to pay for the rest of the months even when we are not living there.

So after all of that waffling, will we be ok  to sign the 6 month contract if we know there is a chance we will move before it's up?

It is absolutely impossible for anyone to answer this question without seeing the tenancy agreement.

Vicky

I wouldn't sign anything I wasn't absolutely sure about. If there's no 'get out' clause in the new agreement don't sign unless you are happy to stay put for a further 6 months.  Ask to have a meeting with the agent with the landlord present to discuss it.

We've had tenancy agreements that were not month-to-month that still had clauses in them allowing us to break them without paying the remainder of the lease. The difference was having to give 2 months' notice rather than 1 if we decided to move.

Like Vicky says, you'll need to read the lease carefully for the answer....

that's the problem, the lease says nothing...it only says we have to give one months notice prior to moving out or the landlord has to give two.

I somehow dont think we will be here much longer though as the EA wants to conduct viewings the last two months of the tenancy, and she made it very in favour of her being able to come in whenever she pleases.

We want it where she has to give reasonable notice, have one of us present, and lower the rent to compensate for not letting us have 'quiet enjoyment' of the property, and I want the right to refuse to let her conduct a viewing if it is interfering. All of these I know are pretty standard, and I have the right to refuse viewings being conducted, but this EA is pushy and thinks I am an idiot, so I'd like to have it in writing so she can't try to throw her weight around.

It is not usual for someone to demand lower rent during the last months of the tenancy.

I think you need to be a bit more flexible. 

Vicky

I wouldn't sign anything I wasn't absolutely sure about. If there's no 'get out' clause in the new agreement don't sign unless you are happy to stay put for a further 6 months.  Ask to have a meeting with the agent with the landlord present to discuss it.

Sounds like a great idea...but the EA is making decisions flat out without consulting the LL, I know she will refuse to do that either, and never tell the LL.

We do have his number though so we could discuss it with him...every time I do that though the EA gets uppity and makes things more difficult for me.

It is not usual for someone to demand lower rent during the last months of the tenancy.

I think you need to be a bit more flexible. 

Vicky

It wouldn't be if the landlord weren't selling the house, I agree. However he's selling, and the EA is aggressive with viewings. I don't want to have who knows how many people going through my house every day while she tries to get the property offloaded on some other poor idiot.

In a situation where the LL is selling up I've been told it's normal to expect rent to be lowered. We were assured when we signed the agreement that the LL was not selling, 4 months in we were told to get out, that the LL was selling (he wasn't, she was putting his house on the market herself w/o his permission), and the EA wanted to start doing viewings. So with everything this woman has put us through she's lucky we are willing to sign any renewal at all with her as the EA.

Look, the bottom line is neither the landlord nor the agent is under any legal obligation to do what you want. All you can do is negotiate and hope for the best. If it was me, since they are selling up anyway I'd start looking for a new place.  If you want advice on what is in the agreement, take it along to CAB and show it to one of their advisors.

Look, the bottom line is neither the landlord nor the agent is under any legal obligation to do what you want. All you can do is negotiate and hope for the best. If it was me, since they are selling up anyway I'd start looking for a new place.  If you want advice on what is in the agreement, take it along to CAB and show it to one of their advisors.

I never said they were. If they dont want to agree to the terms, or take out the viewings part altogether, then I am under no obligation to renew either. If that were the case, then we'd give our notice and move out.

We are just in an awkward situation with dh's job, if we have to move out now we have to sign a new 6 month lease and we'd still be looking to move. If we knew for sure where dh's new job would be, we'd move there, but it's not as simple as that.

And as for CAB, they are totally useless as well, btdt.

I can see you are in an awkward position.  Sadly there's no magic answer. We've had similar situations over the last couple of years and it is not easy.  I can only reiterate you really need to show the agreement to someone who knows a bit about tenancy law. If CAB couldn't help try somewhere else: Shelter or a law centre or a law firm that takes on legal aid work if you can't afford to pay.

I saw a website for shelter but couldn't find one for england, only NI and Scotland, will look again there though.

If I knew the LL would stick to his word I'd go to him, however with the EA in the picture I can just see her talking him out of getting an agreement that works for both sides.

DH had a great job lined up, and it would have been the perfect opportunity to leave here, but he made a big mistake at the end of the interview that cost him dearly and he wasn't chosen.

Just had to vent a bit about the last part, I'm left to deal with the EA and the LL and I'm getting frustrated, then I find out that DH lost his opportunity because he did exactly what the agent told him not to. :/
 

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-1005.cfm

The English regions are under the drop down thing.

thanks, I've had a search through their site, and emailed them for advice. They will get back to me within 3 working days which is a lot better than the 6 weeks to 2 months it takes to get an appt with CAB

really wishing though the ll hadnt gone with the EA, we wouldnt be having this problem otherwise.

I'm really confused, what is 'EA'?

I'm really confused, what is 'EA'?

Estate Agent, I believe.