Jamie Campbell
3 years ago - 3 minute read
Things are messed up right now, and the fall out might have impacted your income or your housemates’ income… whatever the case, if your living situation might have changed drastically, you could be considering an early move.
Check out these tips which will help you stop or minimise the costs of breaking your tenancy agreement.
Remember: before you exit the property or stop paying rent, get all changes and confirmation in writing.
If you’ve only paid the holding deposit, and you are serious about not moving in, tell your agent or landlord right now. It is highly likely that you will lose your holding deposit.
If you’ve signed the contract, you are legally obliged to keep to the terms you agreed to. Unfortunately there is no ‘cooling off period’ for rental contracts even if you only viewed the property and signed for it virtually.
It is worth noting that if you think the property and the leasing of the property was at all misleading, you may be able to terminate the contract. You should clearly tell your agent or landlord how you have been misled and your intention to break the contract. This is called ‘unwinding’ and you can find more details here.
A deposit can be held if you don’t negotiate an early end to your contract. You remain on the hook for all missed rent and damages but there should be no deposit deductions for check out or admin fees. You can check any charges against the TDS Fee Matrix.
Before you up and leave, here are the steps to take to try and get your full deposit back:
Consider the amount that you are willing to forfeit if they ask you to pay an early termination fee. If it is significantly less than all the ongoing costs, it might be worth agreeing to these costs to save more money in the long run.
Most of your options come down to communication with your landlord or checking through your contract with a careful eye.
If there is no way out of the contract you could sublet the room/flat. There has been a spike in subletting for renters who are unable to negotiate an early release from their contract.
Here is what the experts say when it comes to subletting:
Jamie Campbell
3 years ago - 3 minute read
Fronted is a trading name of Fronted Holding Ltd. We are registered in England and Wales (Company No.12278750), registered office address is Fronted, The Fisheries, 1 Mentmore Terrace, London, E8 3PN. Fronted Loans Ltd (Company No.12307305) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under a Consumer Credit Licence (FCA No. 933316). Fronted Ltd (Company No.12304059) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under a Broker Licence (FCA No. 933317).
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