Getting out of a contract!!!

[VenalWinfrey]

Please could someone help with this? My friend signed a one year contract to rent a one bedroom property. Now slightly over six months in, he is unhappy there and desperately wants to move. I told him that it is standard in rental contracts to have either a written or assumed six month break clause, - on either side - that would give him the right to serve a notice period (I thought somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks?) after serving the initial six months. He says that there is nothing in the contract mentioning a break clause, and he fears he will have to stay the full one year term or pay up in full and lose his deposit. I have asked three friends and they have given me conflicting answers! Does my friend have a statutory right, by law, to leave with some notice without incurring a substantial penalty from the landlords and/or losing his deposit?! I would really appreciate an answer to this because he is so unhappy and if legally he had grounds to go, I would like him to! Also, does anyone know of any websites or people to call who might be able to give me some advice on this topic? Many thanks for any help on this.

[andy hughes]

I'm not a lawyer, but I would suggest that your friend tests the water. Why not let him suggest to the landlord that he'd like to give a month's notice - use moving jobs as an excuse - and see what the landlord says - it may be as easy ast that. If not, suggest three months' notice, and see if that flies. No joy? Ask what the penalties would be for taking a month's notice anyway. Keep it friendly and polite - there's plenty of time to get nasty if it has to come to that, but you may be surprised - a lot of landlords would rather have an empty room than an unhappy tenent.

[andy hughes]

If my suggetion fails - refer your friend to the Citizens Advice Bureau, they have plenty of experience in this area.

[Isa Blakbory]

The legal position is that your friend is solely responsible for the entire rent and satisfactory fulfillment of the contract until the end of the very last day of the lease, whether he uses the flat or not. There is no escape from this, he will not be released, and should he flee he will undoubtedly be pursued with vigour to a very costly ending. However, he has the valuable benefit of the "head" lease, and it should be possible for him to find someone acceptable to the landlord to whom he can sub-let for not less than the amount he is paying and on the same or improved terms. But, and I cannot over emphasise this, if the sub-lessee defaults then the situation reverts to the head-lessee, your friend, being liable for the full amount of the rent until the end of the of the lease, plus repairs etc.

[darth vader]

very few landlords allow sub-letting in fact i would be surprised if the banning of sub-letting is not a stipulation in your friend's contract. Also i seriously doubt (according to isa blakberry) the landlord will "come after your friend" if he/she reneges on the contract, but i would be inclined to agree that your friend would lose his/her deposit. Most landlords are amiable and he/she should talk to the landlord with view to giving up the contract over say 1-3 month notice period, as andy suggests.

[melaniejayne]

Hi. I would just like to say my boyfriend and I found ourselves in the same position recently. We signed a year contract and wanted to move after five months. It was a nightmare. We had to get someone in ourselves to cover the rest of the year's rent through an estate agent. We had to pay them a fortune to get someone in and then the new tenant wouldn't pay the full monthly amount, so we had to make up the difference. We did, however, get out bond back. I feel very sorry for your friend and hope it works out ok - it has for us now but I would NEVER sign a year-long contract now. You can get six-month ones, but estate agents don't mention this. By the way, citizens' advice were rubbish.

[teash]

Jst tell your friend to leave he will lose his deposit but at least he won`t have to pay the rent if he`s not there. I rent property`s out and I wish my tenants were as thoughtful as your friend. I`ve total kxxbs who rent houses of me and they know that thay can live there for at least a year rent free because in the long run it will cost ME more to evict them and they still have the nerve to tell me that the property requires work. If your friend is willing to cut his loses (deposit wise ) then he`ll be ok because his landlord can have somebody in the property the same day that he moves out.