Help! I can’t find a suitable short let tenancy agreement.

Help! I can’t find a suitable short let tenancy agreement.

8:09 AM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago 40

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I am hoping to let my property for 2 months while it is on the market to sell. Bills will be included but it will not be furnished. I know that you can use an AST for shorter than 6 months but this does not protect me against a tenant wanting to stay on and not pay if under 6 months, which would among other things, jeopardise the sale.

I have found a tenant who wants to rent, but cannot find a suitable short let agreement to cover this sort of situation. It is not a holiday let as he lives around the corner and is having work done on his house. It isn’t airbnb. What is it called and can anyone point me in the direction of a suitable template that will protect us both for this 2 month tenancy.

Thank you.
O Green


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terry sullivan

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11:34 AM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

what contract will you use? AST is not available!

O Green

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11:36 AM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

That's what I am seeking advice on?
I don't know.
How does airbnb work?
Does that take the same risk?

Luke P

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11:44 AM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by O Green at 29/06/2018 - 11:30
Your terminology and lack of understanding is showing and you’d be extremely wise to stomach the very short void. I advise LLs I manage for to potentially expect a 12-month delay before getting their property back once a tenant puts pen to paper (and subsequently sticks to fingers up to you) as you’re at the mercy of the courts, the required service of paperwork and it’s requisite timings and all the associated delays. You’ll be begging to pay the two months if you end up in that position.

When it comes to property, both parties are governed by very specific legislation and it’s not just a simple private matter between payee and provider - that’s to say you can’t just come to some gentleman’s agreement/arrangement with no inclusion of the state. It’s not like lending your neighbour your lawnmower in exchange for a fee.

Luke P

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11:45 AM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by O Green at 29/06/2018 - 11:36
Where in the country is this house? What rent are you looking to charge and what are the details as to type, No. of rooms etc?

O Green

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11:59 AM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 29/06/2018 - 11:45
It's a 3 bed terraced house in west London. Asking £1900 a month + bills.
I have met the potential tenant, taken photos of his and his girlfriends & sons passports, council tax bill, planning application to the council for a loft conversion as well as the quote for a loft conversion.

Londoner 43

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12:04 PM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

I had SHORT LETS in my property in London through the estate/letting agent Foxtons. (Other London agents also offer them.) I was planning to move into my property after selling my previous home, but the sale fell through at the last moment, and it took 12 months to complete the sale. The problem for you is that these kinds of short lets are usually for fully furnished accommodation., so it would not work for you. I had let out my flat to AST tenants for 12 years, so that was not a problem.

My very first tenants stayed only for one month and left the flat in a terrible mess, as the agent had not checked it after the tenants departed. I was abroad at the time, but the agent organised cleaning on the day the new tenants moved in. The second tenants stayed for 3 months, but had brought electric fans to cool the flat, and run up a very high electricity bill. I could not take AST tenants, as I had a new offer on my home fairly soon, but it also fell through. (This was in 2016, with the results of the Brexit voting causing a lot of problems.) I could not afford to leave the flat empty for 12 months, as the service charge, etc. costs are quite high. It was an awful lot of hassle, though. Usually, the agent takes at least 30% of the Short Let rent as their fee, and charge for everything they do.

O Green

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12:18 PM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Londoner 43 at 29/06/2018 - 12:04
Thank you Londoner43. My potential tenant does not want a furnished house as he has to move out of his house, to some extent, for the building works. So you rented out through Foxtons and it was still a hassle? What agreement did you have? Was it legal? How did they propose to get rid of the tenants if they had refused to leave?
A lot of people in our area rent properties on a short term basis while they are having work done to their house. So I didn't expect it to be difficult to find an agreement to fit this situation.

Luke P

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12:56 PM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by O Green at 29/06/2018 - 12:18
You will be bound by the Housing Act and the Landlord and Tenant Act if it come to forcing a tenant out against their will. No amount of ‘you signed a contract and promised to leave’ will wash. It is a massive risk. How on earth can the timings work out for both of you over such a short period? What’s his story for only requiring it for two months?

O Green

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13:02 PM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 29/06/2018 - 12:56
He is doing a conversion to his flat and only needs to move out for part of the time that works are happening. He in fact would like to move home 2 weeks earlier than he is proposing to pay for but is allowing that extra time for builders delays, although he has clauses in the works agreement which means that the builders will pay if they over run.
I agree that if there is no contract which covers this type of short let then it is a risk. I thought there would be something to make this legal and didn't imagine that there was such a void. People must need short lets all the time for work or travel and having work done to their house.

TheMaluka

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13:10 PM, 29th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Residential letting is a prime example of government interference with a market which it does not understand. The one size fits all AST means that short term lets are impossible. In any case letting has now been made so complex by this government that in all probability you will be committing a criminal offence if you let the property without the aid of expert advice at all stages.

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