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Landlord dispute

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hi, I am currently have a dispute with my (to be) landlord. Basically the story is this. Me and my landlord HAS SIGNED a one year contract with a 6-month break clause to rent a property from the 12th Feb to the 11th Feb of next year. I paid 6 months rent in advance (because I have no UK gaurantor and I am not a UK citizen) on the 9th Feb which is £9450. Then on the 11th the agent called and told me that there has been a mistake, the current tenant at the property has paid the rent up til the 23rd Feb and therefore he will not move out before then. Which means I can't move in on the 12th as agreed in the contract. Now the problem is that I can only stay at my current place until the 20th, and have to find place to stay until 23rd. I asked my current landlord if I can extend, he said yes with additional rent of £165. Do you think this extra rent is the new landlord's responsibility or mine? Also has she broken the law of the contract since both of us signed accordingly.

Comments

  • FizFiz Deactivated Posts: 44 Boards Initiate
    This sounds like quite a sticky issue I can see why you’re not sure where you stand with it. Moving can be especially stressful for anyone and going through something like this must feel quite frustrating right now. Hopefully though in just a few more days it’ll all be over and you’ll be in your new place.

    It seems like the confusion is between the agent and the landlord with each of them perhaps not communicating the facts to one another. But to be honest either way it doesn’t really improve the situation for you right now unfortunately. Has your contract now be extended by the extra two weeks? As long as that’s extended then you should be financially even? Also think about whether you have incurred any extra costs because of the change (such as the cost to recruit a moving company) as maybe that could be something you could ask the landlord for? The Citizens Advice Bureau might be able to offer extra advice and tell you where you stand with getting any money back on the extra rent you’ve had to pay.

    In the meantime if you are looking for somewhere to stay try speaking to friends or family and see if they can help you out. If not you could check out Shelter’s website who are a charity who provide support and advice on a huge range of housing issues.

    Maybe something positive to take from it is that the landlord has honored his previous agreement with a past tenant rather than thrown them out. It’s clearly been hard to find somewhere to live, hopefully this last minute problem doesn’t sour the whole experience and you’ll be fine in the end.

    I hope things work out for you. Take care.

    Fiz
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