Advice needed please!

iPink

I'm just looking for a bit of advice please!

I am currently in a situation I really need to be out of... I have found a small house to rent nearby that is miraculously within my price range and available next week...

As I'm going through a very tough time right now I'm not 100% certain of what I want to do. .. all I know is I and my daughter need out of where we are now. .. however the situation may change again in 6-8 months time once I have a chance to think more clearly & school finishes for the summer.

The lease on the new place is for a year, I've asked if they will give me a 6 month lease but they won't do that. So I asked what would happen IF I needed to move on within the year... The agent said that they cannot tie me into any length of contract and as long as I give at least a month's notice I will get the full deposit back (minus a share of the PTRB cost by month & as long as the house is in order)

I was happy with that and am certainly not looking to mess anyone around with regards to contacts or anything however a few people have said to me that they wouldn't trust that only on the word of the agent & there have beem countless cases where people have been told this but then they were told to forget their deposit once the property had been vacated...!

Knowing the situation I am in at the moment & the current rental market (ie I'm really lucky to have even found a place and that they accept ra!) I don't want to rock the boat by asking for this in writing or for further clarification. .

Can anyone please tell me what the legal stand-point on contracts is please?

TIA

MarkAnthony

I assume legal advice can't be given but there is Threshold or FLAC which would be able to give you legal advice for free.

I believe that leases can be assigned, i.e. you find a tenant to take over the lease who is acceptable to the LL, but I'm not sure how or if RA effects that.

TBH I'd go on what the agent has told you but wouldn't expect a reference from the LL. The only thing I would say is if you have kids/ a kid you really need to try and settle.

D3PO

we cannot give legal advise but connon sense says dont take their word for it if the contract contradicts what they say.

if you sign a years lease with no break clause then you are locked in for a year, unless you find somebody to reassign the lease to.

I dont know your situation but do not go signing a lease unless your prepared to accept and abide by the terms of it.

iPink

thank you for your advice... yes it makes sense not to sign something unless I am 100% prepared tp abide by it...
however I am in a relationship I need to get out of, the house isn't mine.
It is entirely for my daughter's sake that I am staying in the area at least until she finishes school as I feel it would be unfair to move her now...
I don't have many options here and quite honestly my own sense of myself and my capability/strength had been erased and abused so entirely that I am no longer sure what is right & what isn't... hence asking for some advice!

MarkAnthony

Sorry to sound harsh but it's simple contract nothing else needs to enter into it. Your personal circumstances aren't the fault/business of the LL.

That said contracts are frequently broken, the remedy for a broken contract is not something that should haunt you for years, you'd be expected to pay reasonable expenses (PRTB, Agent fee perhaps) or assign the lease (not to any old person but again to someone reasonable).

There is an argument for not entering into a lease you're going to break, of course there is. That said if the place was easy to let the agent would have rejected you at the first sign of an issue. People who fully intend to stay the 12 months break leases all the time.

Only you can make this decision in all honesty.

Mrs OBumble

OP - from what you've said take the house now. Worry about six months time in six months time.

As regards the lease: legally I believe you will be liable for the full length of it - but if you move out early and the LL finds someone else to move in, then you are only liable until they move in. What's more, you can help the process along by finding a candidate replacement tenant yourself, and AFAIK the LL cannot both refuse a reasonable suggestion and continue to charge you. What's more, if you have very little money, most LL's are smart enough to realise it's not worth the cost of chasing you.

D3PO

iPink wrote: »

thank you for your advice... yes it makes sense not to sign something unless I am 100% prepared tp abide by it...
however I am in a relationship I need to get out of, the house isn't mine.
It is entirely for my daughter's sake that I am staying in the area at least until she finishes school as I feel it would be unfair to move her now...
I don't have many options here and quite honestly my own sense of myself and my capability/strength had been erased and abused so entirely that I am no longer sure what is right & what isn't... hence asking for some advice!

sounds reasonable OP but why would you then only be able to stay in the other place for 6 months ? Once your away from that person what is the pressing need to only remain for 6 months.

I dont want to be judgemental but if its ok to stay there for 6 months surely its ok for 12 ..

iPink

D3PO wrote:

I dont want to be judgemental but if its ok to stay there for 6 months surely its ok for 12 ..

I am honestly not going into this INTENDING to break the contract from the get-go!!
I simply don't know what my circumstances will be in 6-8 months time, which I think is a reasonable concern.

The reason being that I want my daughter to stay in the school she is in now at least until she finishes the year. .. as she is in 6th class I will then have to decide if I stay here & she goes to secondary school here or somewhere else ie the town I am from.
If I do decide to stay here then my commitment will probably be at least a few years more if not until she actually finishes secondary...

I am not from here... all my family & friends & support are at least 3 hours away by car... I moved here for love or so I thought a year and a half ago... however as the saying goes 'if you want to know the bear go live with him!' or words to that effect.

I am completely alone & isolated here but will try to make a new life for the sake of least interruption to my daughter!!
I am also trying to get my little business off the ground and/or get a job, the success of either again depending in my decision to stay here or move back home!

Thank you all again for your replies & advice, I really appreciate it

iPink

MarkAnthony wrote:

Sorry to sound harsh but it's simple contract nothing else needs to enter into it. Your personal circumstances aren't the fault/business of the LL.

yes you are absolutely right and I would never make it so!

iPink

D3PO wrote:

sounds reasonable OP but why would you then only be able to stay in the other place for 6 months ? Once your away from that person what is the pressing need to only remain for 6 months.

I hope I answered this in my post above this one?
Thanks

D3PO

best of luck either way OP not a nice situation to be in particularly this time of the year id wager. I would really caution you against signing the lease unless there is a break clause in it though. Im sure you could do without the stress or hassle of having to deal with an agent whos looking at holding your deposit in 6 months time as you are breaking the lease terms.

hope you get it sorted one way or the other.

Deenie123

OP, contrary to the above post I'd really caution you against not taking a place that allows you to get out of where you are ASAP. Let 8 months down the line worry about itself. Get out of the dodgy relationship and make your child safe. Leases can be reassigned, or you might stay. You need accommodation now, you've found some, grab it ASAP.

Arbiter of Good Taste

Deenie123 wrote: »

OP, contrary to the above post I'd really caution you against not taking a place that allows you to get out of where you are ASAP. Let 8 months down the line worry about itself. Get out of the dodgy relationship and make your child safe. Leases can be reassigned, or you might stay. You need accommodation now, you've found some, grab it ASAP.

I agree. There's always ways around problems if you are thinking with a clear head - which I suspect you are not doing at the moment.

If you need to break the lease, it can be reassigned. You would probably find a good alternative tenant on a lot less energy than you are wasting right now worrying.

You say that there's an option of sending your child to school in the town where you are from. Could you have family or good friends she can stay with from September to December if it's a case that you absolutely have to see out the lease?

Worst case scenario, try and save a little extra between now and then if you find yourself in a position where the landlord keeps the deposit.

Don't worry about the future now, but just try and "think outside the box" as they say

iPink

Thank you all again for your advice & support. These forums really are invaluable. .. I don't feel as alone or isolated even though he tried to get rid of our Internet conection! I put my foot down on that one!