‘Surrender Of Tenancy’ Notice For Tenants

Yes I have had tenants off over 6 years sadly on a few occasions have to move on.........just like yours great tenants, never asked for a thing, in all that time. Always paid rent on time. Never any problems

Mine just gave notice tonight ! bloody bank holiday weekend, wanted to give a month notice from tonight till 29th next month. Their rent isn't due until 12th September so had a short exchange with them about the one month notice period. I insisted they pay full month. hopefully its sorted but means I got to go through the whole veiwings thing again.

It might be a blessing though because they were getting problamatic, wouldnt alloww the painter access the other day and plumbed a washing machine in the bathroom ! until we insisted they removed it.
bleeding tenants !!!

I received notice and tenants have just moved out after 4.5 years. The property was furnished,all new when they moved in; they have done lots and lots of damage, they tried to repaint walls ( i was not made adware of repaint) to hide damage mut made a bad job with cutting-in and did not prep / repair wall damage. damage is well beyond fair ware and tear.. i have had to replace carpets, fridge etc., etc.,

Can anyone suggest how I calculate the damage, is this a percentage of the original price or replacement price? I have used an inventory agency, but they just record damage and cannot help with I charge them.

I have a deposit if £1100 but doubt this will cover it>

Sincerely,

Graham

It's hard not to take it personally when tenants leave a mess behind. It can cost time, money and emotional wear and tear to chase them through the courts (if you can find which part of the undergrowth they've slid off to).

My landlord friends and I were sick and tired of feeling there was nothing we could do. So we decided to do something about it.

We have developed a website which offers a free landlord-to-landlord warning service. Just bash in as many details as you have about your rogue tenant into our encrypted ("hashed") database and you are notified automatically when another user searches for the same tenant.

You are put in touch with each other and can have a confidential chat about your mutual "friend". This could save another landlord from being taken in by your runaway rent-defaulter. And another landlord could do you the same favour. Bad tenant loses out. Result!

Check it out at http:/www.letshare.info and let us know what you think.

JR

Thanks John.

I would still rent to these tenants; as they paid rent for 4.5 years and I hold a large deposit that should cover my costs, however they expect a full refund as they beleive the damage is fair wear and tear.

I plan to calculate my full costs and send them details. Obviously they will expect to negoitate this down.

My concern is, example

I had to replace one sofa that was good quality that cost £600; they broke the frame between the legs and the covers were badly stained thay could not be cleaned or repaired; so how do I calculate fair wear and tear when the sofa was 4.5 years old.

The second identical sofa was not damaged but required new covers.

I'd appreciate help; can someone suggest fair wear an tear in this instance?

Sincerely,

Hi Graham.

Four and a half years is quite a long time. How much would you expect to pay for a second-hand sofa in good condition that has been used for that long? £100? £200 tops? If it is now unsaleable I would call it £200 and charge them that. Add on the covers for the other one (£100?) and there's your answer.

Personally, I never let furnished. It avoids just this kind of hassle. My thinking is that is a tenant has reached a certain age and hasn't got any furniture or enough personal items to fill a property, then something's wrong with them. And furnished places don't seem to fetch very much more rent than unfurnished.

I know that's probably not a very scientific way of looking at the tenant demographic, but it works for me.

Of course, you may live in a part of the country where furnished property is the norm. It isn't in the area where I live and rent my places.

Good luck!

JR

Hi Guys,

Graham - the issue you will have is of "betterment"! You are only allowed to charge for refurbishment/repairs to bring the items back to the condition they were in when the property was let. For example, if the furniture was second hand then you would not be allowed to charge them for a new item as it would be "better" than originally supplied. In the same vein, if it went to court then the magustrate would ask you how you knew the covers could not be cleaned or repaired since you were not a professional upholstery cleaner!

You would have to provide written evidence - you cannot just assume that the sofa can't be repaired or cleaned - the same with the new covers - you would have to provide documentary evidence to prove they could not be cleaned. If the sofa was 4.5 years old then I am afraid you would have a real issue charging more than just a nominal amount especially if you do not have an independant inventory along with photographs to prove condition. Frames dont seem to be built to last these days!

I would suggest the same as John, even a little less perhaps to avoid issues with the beak!

Jools

thanks a lot!! this is very helpful ^^

I am a tenant and I am wanting to surrender my tenancy early after being threatened in my neighbourhood. The house I am renting is lovely and the landlord is a nice lady however I am worried about the safety of myself and my daughter who is only 6. I don't feel safe to walk her to school or the shops which is really difficult as I don't drive. I don't fear for assault by the teenagers who threatened me but I worry about verbal abuse I may get when with my child. My landlord is aware of this situation and I am hoping he will, out of good will let me surrender my tenancy 2 months early so I can move in with my Father until I can secure enough money to go through the whole letting process again.
Any landlords out there had a similar experience with tenants or can anyone offer advice on how I can negotiate with my landlord a leaving early agreement.
Thank you in advance.

My tenant is 6mths into a 12mth Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement but rang me today to advise they wish to move out next month. Rent is due on 20th of each month. They have been good tenants & did want to buy the property at the end of the 12mth period or even before hence I agreed to a 12mth contract to enable them time to raise a deposit for a mortgage. They have now changed their mind which is disappointing but they are young & I wish them well. I want to help if I can but not sure in which way. The agreement states 3mths notice must be given but I am happy for them to leave earlier (next month)if they pay 3mths rent of the 6 remaining & sign a surrender letter. A bond is also returnable which is held by a bond agency. Any thoughts welcome

Hello

I'm a tenant and would like some advice. We have rented a property for 4 years, we want to surrender around 7 months early due to a house purchase. We are giving the landlord 4 months notice, we have always had really positive feedback from the letting agency following inspections.

In this position would you be prepared to surrender the tenancy? I really can't afford to in the position of have to pay the rest of the tenancy and the mortgage on the new house.

Mark,

It all depends on whether the LL can get another tenant into his property in a timely manner. If he can, great (don't forget you will be responsible for all REASONABLE costs incurred in re-letting the property. 7 Months is a long time even with a 4 month notice so don't be surprised if the landlord says no. You could say - "if you are prepared to let us go early then we will compensate you financially by £ xxxxx"

Problem is, it's not the landlords fault you found a home to buy after you signed your tenancy agreement. Did you sign for another year on a rolling basis or are you in a periodic tenancy term?

Hello,

I'm a tenant and I've lived in my current property for just over a month. I signed a shorthold for six months with no break clause. Ever since then I have found my landlord to be aggressive, hotheaded and I've grounds to believe he has been snooping in the property whilst I am not there. He makes me feel frightened and I've been unable to speak to him about any problems for fear of risking him 'kicking off'. The place is also getting too expensive for me to live in, and I'm worried he won't see reason if I try handing over a Surrender Notice. Does anyone have any advice as to what to do if he won't cooperate with the Surrender?

Many thanks for posting the notice. It is a godsend. I will let you know what happens when I give it to him. Thanks again.

John Roberts,

Just to let yuou know that the website you have created is illegal. You are not allowed to disclose this information.

David

Hi there guys,
Not sure whether you will be able to help at all as this is a bit of a strange one.
My partner and I entered into a tenancy agreement for a property on the basis that we used it for business purposes(Public house, Restaurant and Bed and Breakfast accommodation), however as their was no actual business, we have a normal tenancy agreement as apposed to a business or commercial tenancy agreement.

We have been living in the property and running it as a business well as much as we can do given that our landlord has failed to provide us with a Gas Safe certificate (so we cant operate the Restaurant) and has a non functioning and out of date fire alarm system (so we can't operate the bed and breakfast accommodation)

We have a 24 month fixed term with a break clause at 12 months (as long as we provide 3 months notice) however due to the misrepresentation of my landlords in regard to the certification of the building, is there anyway I can leave prior to that 12 month break?

@Natasha,

You need to speak to a solicitor on this to get a proper answer but this is my view for what its worth.

Assuming you are in England/Wales.

If the property was let to you as a dwelling, converted from a pub, soley for residential use, then your assured tenancy agreement is probably valid and you have to stick to the terms of your agreement.

If a significant part of the premises was let for business purposes (i.e you are running a typical pub) then it cannot be an assured tenancy and I don't think your agreement is valid.

But you need to speak to a solicitor.

On a more practical note, a gas safety check would cost you about fifty quid so it doesn't make sense losing income if that is the only problem.

I've just had a new, hard wired fire alarm installed on a pub sized property for £600. Repairing and certifying your existing system will probably be cheaper. Again, it doesn't make sense losing income if that is the only problem.

You must have believed you could make it work at one point, if it is just 500 quid holding you back then pay for the work yourself- and try to get it back off your landlord later. Good luck.

@Benji

Cheers for your advice (seeking legal advice next week) we have had quotes for all the work required to get the building usable and £600 for a fire alarm system that is amazing I am being quoted around £2500, and as for the gas safe the work required to get it up to scratch would also be around £2000 so I'm told (needs a new extractor fan and venting system) although I am getting a 2nd opinion on this next week also

Cheers again :)

@Natasha,

I thought there was more to it than that. Sorry for your predicament.

Re the fire alarm system we had this one fitted for £600 + VAT. It is for simple residential use only so maybe not suitable for your requirement;

http://www.discountfiresupplies.co.uk/product/160/845/Fike-Twinflex-Pro-8-Zone-Fire-Alarm-Kit?utm_source=Google%2BProducts&utm_medium=Price%2BComparison&utm_campaign=Google%2BProducts&gclid=CKbJruiarbwCFaQfwwod3kQArg

Hi,

I wondered if you might be able to give me some advice. I am a tenant that has been renting my current property for 6 years. We rent privately and our Landlord over the last 6 years has been very lax about anything to do with the property. We are now buying our own and have given our landord more than the 1 months notice that we are required to give as we are on a periodic basis. We do want to end our agreement in the middle of a month, we usually pay our rent on the first. Our Landlord is insisting that we pay up until the end of the month. Is she able to do this?
We have given her more time than was required of us so she could organise more tenants etc and to begin with she was fine with everything. We have been excellent tenants and not asked a thing of her in 6 years. She has also neglected to put in place the required safety checks for our gas appliances etc which I know is law for her to do.
Really what I want to know is whether I can legally give notice to end in the middle of a month if I pay on the first or if I have to pay for the full months rent?

We've got a tenant from hell!
He began renting our apartment in london just over four months ago and has not paid a penny since. As we are letting the apartment with Savills, we followed their advice and have only just issued a section 8 notice which he seems to be suggesting he will ignore and so far he owes nearly £10,000.00. If we have to drag this through the courts this figure will likely double by the time we can actually get him out, and as we have a mortgage, service charges and ground rent to pay, we could easily end up bankrupt by the time it's finished.
I can't believe tenants are able to get away with this and the situation has already caused major stress and problems with my marriage. We have now offered to relieve him of any outstanding rent if he just leaves, but he's so far not accepted.
The problem is that if he does not leave, we will have to take him through the court process to claim for money owed and to evict him, but he could just leave the country after as he's not a british citizen! We'd then be left with all the legal fees, about 20K light and in all probability a repossessed apartment as without the rent coming in, we simply can't afford this length of time covering the outgoings.
So stressed and don't know what to do :-(

Hi there,

I hope you guys can help me. I've signed an assured shorthold agreement a week ago, but since then have discovered that my landlord is a hothead. My agreement doesn't state anything about my deposit going into the deposit scheme which I know is a legal requirement. When I asked him nicely if he had put my deposit into the scheme yet, he went absolutely mental at me, calling me rude and disrespectful, which scared me. I've also had the problem that my heater in my room doesn't have a thermostat, so I can't regulate my own heating which is covered by my rent as outlined in the agreement. He's been making excuses about this as well, and then this morning turned up unannounced, let himself into the shared house and then just knocked on my door and even though he hadn't announced himself with any notice expected me to let him and some random guy look at my radiator. When I told him that he needed to give me notice before he came over he went mental again, called me crazy and said I was full of bullshit. I actually physically started shaking with fear from this man. I've been scared of him, and his temper and asked if I can move out early (the agreement is for four months). He's said if I hand in a notice he'll accept it but there is no break clause in the agreement. What do I do? Can I still give him a notice? Is it valid and releases me of any future parts of the agreement? I said to him I'll give two weeks notice, which he said was fine. Is that enough? Or is it better to set up a declaration of surrender and have him agree to that? Please help, Im incredibly scared of this man. I just want to move out at the end of the month, as that's what I've already paid, get my deposit back since I haven't damaged anything and move somewhere else. Please please help.

The idiot landlord and his idiot solicitor (you couldn't make this up)

I was on a STA for 6 months rolling on after month by month a year later my partner left to live with another guy hundreds of miles got engaged etc. I met with my landlord who stated i can live there on my own (verbal contract). a year later, being an idiot i let her back in after "it didn't work out for her" but only to have a room because she had no where else to go. She then had me bailed away from the house for an offence i clearly commit against her (and admonished in court) a month after I was bailed i received a Sec 21 notice however my deposit was not in any scheme. the Landlord refused to give me the new keys (breaching Sec 1(2) Protection from Eviction Act 1977). 9 months later his solicitor eventual caved in and said i was right about Sec21 but it's cost me over £2000 in costs. I went to collect my Chattels only to find the ex had done a runner with the lot. now after 2 years the Landlord after giving her the deposit back. wants me to sign a Deed of Surrender duh! if i did i would be liable for the liability order for Council tax he has to pay and anything pertaining to the property. BTW I'm Bailiff. Why are some landlords and Solicitors so stupid? He's brought it on himself as this will end via the CCourt to High Court then he will lose everything as it will be enforced with forced entry into his home, which is his business too!

sorry DID NOT COMMIT and offence... its funny when you miss the word "NOT" out of sentance

Its a good document, which I am considering uses but not sure I understand the clause "agreed on the day and yesr entered at the top and bottom of the page". Why top and bottom? You wouldnt aggree and sign on two different dates so why the need to have it twice?

It would make more sense if the top date was called "surrender date", being the actual date the tennant moves out, and the bottom date the execution date, the date the parties signed and agreed the document. Like with a tenancy, the execution date and the start of the tenancy are not normally the same.

Have I misunderstood something here? Any comments welcome.

Hi can anybody help, I am a tenant and I am wanting to surrender my tenancy early. we have a 12 month contract with a 6 months break clause, i'm in my 9th month already, an wish to leave early December i have to give 2 months notice, so am i right in saying if i was to give notice this week i could be out by end of November?

Thank you

Good reading post from either side ie landlords/tenants. Just wondering if lodger moves into a property with residing landlord signs a 6 month LODGER AGREEMENT then decides to move a month into moving in date does landlord have to return deposit through loss of income as a result of vacant room? love to hear what rights lodger and resident landlord have on this but guessing it will not be straight forward (never is)

In reply to Mag Wills, unlike Shorthold Tenancy Agreements where the deposit needs to be protected, Lodger agreements do not require this.

Providing you had an agreement with your lodger, you are entitled to make up for any loss of rent as a result of your tenant breaking that agreement.

As a landlord myself I have had my fair share of tenants wanting to leave early. Be reasonable and suggest to your lodger they continue to live there and pay the rent until you find a new lodger whereupon you will return the deposit when they have moved out. Otherwise they move out now and you keep a reasonable proportion of the deposit.

Dear Gary, thank you for your swift reply!

Ok I am going to let you know I am a landlord I love in my own house but just rent out one room as the tenant in question was her from 3rd Sep 2016 to end October 2016 she signed a 6 month lodger agreement then decides she wanted to move out stating she was not happy with not being able to use my lounge it stated on the advert lounge not for use as I explained it all to her when she signed the contract and was stated on the contract she became very intimidating in her stay here ie constantly slamming and banging doors and kitchen units. When upon moving in I asked for previous landlord name and contact number and her response was 'i don't have to give you that!' All throughout her stay here I found her disrespectful and rude. To add to this she couldn't decide on her moving date ie 13th Oct then 22nd Oct then 2nd Oct I found she totally messed me round. Things came to a head when on the day of moving (2nd oct) she said to me have my deposit or I keep your house keys when she came in I told her I don't take kindly to her tone so I changed the locks allowed her in to get her cases than when I asked for my keys she verbally and physically attacked me so I had to call the police which she tried to stop me doing. I have refunded £50 of her £520 deposit I might add that she still owes me a days rent as it was due on the 1st of October. Police told me it's up to me weather to give it back or not. Could you please shed some light on where I stand on this I'm new to this and not sure what to do I have had a letter from justice for tenants from her and the lies and way the whole thing is being twisted has disgusted me and she have accused me of harassment? ?? I have text after text from her and police tells me not to reply. I have not made contact with this woman since the day she left I have sent one email stating that I will not refund her deposit as she left after signing a 6 month agreement and now I'm left with an empty room and loss of income.

Any information would be much appreciated,
M. Wills

Good morning,
Me and my partner are in a joint tenancy for 3 months now. Our contract is still valid for 9 months. The other couple we are sharing want to remain at the property but for us this tenancy does not work out and we are wanting to move out.

We are happy to give the LL enough time of notice ( up to 3 months) but the LL claims we have no rights to end the contract early.

At this point I don't know what to do. I checked the contract and it does not state anything about ending the tenancy earlier. it just says if once agreed with the landlord can end earlier. Is there any advice on this matter?

Be careful.we recently got in a horrible situation with a horrible tenant. I won't go into detail but it was in our interest he left. He offered to sign anything, hand the keys back and empty the property in return for a sum of money. (It was a reasonable amount but a lot cheaper than a section 8 or 21. We duly completed a surrender letter stating the legal position and in law this normally is seen as a legal document as we both signed it and he handed the keys back. He said he would be back the day after to collect his belongings (what a mistake, we got sucked right in). We have done this for tenants before sometimes because of rent arrears which we agreed to forego to allow surrender and sometimes genuine reasons because unexpected events had happened in their lives which we are pleased to accommodate and it's always worked well. This tenant left and we did not see him for four days. He broke back into the flat and asked us for £400 more to take his stuff out immediately and leave. I did not know what to do so we called the police and showed them the surrender letter. The tenant denied it was his signature and said in front of the police he had taken drugs that day and can't remember anything. The police said the document was not legal and it would have to be from a court or at least a solicitor. They said not to give him anymore money and get it done through a solicitor. They asked us to leave. Outside they said it looked like this likely preplanned and he used our wish to get him out quick as a way to extort the original sum of money and it was always his intention to come back for more money but a bit less than the time before. We went to a solicitor and she said in this case a surrender needs to be signed with our solicitor and he would have to use another solicitor to sign the surrender letter so it is seen he has had independent legal advice. We would have to pay for his solicitor. The flat would have to be empty before signing. After the police left, he left about 2 hours after and he has not been back to the flat since, that was a week ago. Although I still would use a surrender letter with a normal tenant, I think this has come about because this tenant has found a way of resorting money but more importantly if a tenant has drug issues or alike their signiture can not be used on any legal documents without independent solicitors confirming they are signing in a clear state of mind. If a mutual surrender letter as according to the police is not a legal document, 1. The tenant could re-enter whenever they liked. 2. A landlord could receive a solicitors letter accusing them of illegal eviction. There are some bad people out there ready to take you for a ride. We have 20 other tenants who we get on great with so I should feel ok. But I have these situations that keeps me awake and effects my home life due to the worry. We can't contact him because he is not there do we now have to do a section 8 for the next few months.

Hi
i have a short assured tenancy since 2013. I have just over 5 months left on the lease. I need to end my tenancy early due to financial difficulties. I do not have a break clause. I will have to give a months notice minimum to my landlord. I need advice on what to put in my letter to my landlord

Carolann

I rented a three bed house to three working tenants. One lost his job, the other went sick and the third has had to cover the others as it was a joint agreement. It all started so well as they were best friends!

The paying one wants to surrender his tenancy leaving me with the two others.

What are my options? The AST ends December 25th

Sigh!

Hi
I have rented a cottage with my partner, we had a AST for 6 months we continued to stay in the property for a further year but have now found a better property to rent at the same cost. When I asked our letting agent for a Tenants reference, she informed me that we had got to give 2 months notice and not 1 as I had thought because we'd gone on to a rolling monthly. I checked the contract and saw it did say that it would go on to a monthly rent but with the same terms as the original AST, which was 2 months notice. Can we give just 1 months or have we got to negotiate a surrender to do that and can the letting agent / Landlord not surrender and force us to give 2 months. Who do we start the discussions with?
We are also Landlords of 2 houses but there not were or the type of property we want to live in.

I have a fixed AST with 6 months left on it. No break clauses.
Tenants have both been made redundant and gave me an email to surrender their tenancy in 2 months due to financial reasons and not being able to afford my rent! (I am in Thailand for a year, hence an email).
I accepted their surrender. Now 3 weeks before they should move out they tell me they are staying due to financial reasons not being able to afford removal costs or their new deposit money.
Can I legally enforce their surrender notice and force them to honour it and vacate my property?
They have denied any access to agents so can’t sell it or re-rent it whilst they are still in the house!!

All trust has disappeared and have received numerous rude emails telling me what I can and can’t do with my house. Often not factually or legally correct.

Any advice would be appreciated. Rgds.

i am having tenants how move in, in one of my outside room for renting, i move my son from that room
and i move him in the store room,because he come to me on the 01 July 2019, pleasing that he face a challenges where he was staying before, his ex-landlord allowed his son to sleep in kitchen, where his used to cook.
After three days he did not pay deposit and full rent amount,and he did not want sigh the lease agreement contract, after his staying at my flat, and he only paid N$ 2000.00 instated of N$ 2700,00.
He accused me for being very strick to him because he decorate alcohol in the window frame and he cant have part at my place, now move out after tree days, how will i refund him his money, if his is a dishonest tenants.

he is not honest

Hi there

We have nightmare tenants who have caused so much trouble and stress with unsociable behaviour on the little complex where this house is

They leave their large dogs wandering around communal gardens leaving poo everywhere
They just park anywhere --- in disabled spaces, or even just drive on to the grass and gardens
They have even threatened the manager on this complex who lives on site.

I have managed to get the rent paid to myself from the council -- and i have served them Notice Section 8
But they will not go ---- and now with this latest nightmare with the virus -- everything is just a nightmare

The tenant has offered to go if i pay her 2 months rent

Have you guys heard of this ? It really goes against the grain ..... but it might be the better answer
Instead of paying yet more money and time going through the courts
It will be months otherwise --- before i get rid of them

I presume i would need to get her to sign this Surrender of Tenancy form if i agree to this --- and insist that she leaves the house in good condition ??

Can you guys give any advice ?

Jane

I'm in the rolling period of an AST (by several years) and I've had a couple of really confusing messages from my landlord. The first informed me that my contract was "scheduled for renewal". As they were making several changes to the contract that we didn't want to agree to, we raised queries about this. Instead of getting responses to the questions, we received a second message that "Your contract is no longer being renewed." It doesn't really meet the format of a section 21 notice, but we were about to begin moving out. Is there a possibility that we can use these combination of letters from the landlord and choose to recognise it as a notice to leave?