Tenant leaving before notice period expires

Tenant leaving before notice period expires

14:13 PM, 16th October 2014, About 10 years ago 10

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Our tenant of 11 years has given one months notice which is up soon. Tenant leaving before notice period expires

Apart from some clothes and other personal belongings she has removed all her furniture to the new cottage she has purchased. She told us she would be moving her stuff out gradually and we were fine with that as she had paid a months rent in advance when she first moved in.

Unknown to us, at the time she turned off all the heating and we had a cold snap. Thhe system sprung leaks as the pipes contracted, according to the British Gas engineer who had to be called out twice to sort the problem out.

She is at work all day and is no longer at the property apart from calling in once a week to collect mail.

We have had to be there to let everyone in and wait for jobs to be done and we have given up days of our time plus the expense of travelling to the house (a 40 mile round trip) to ensure that everything is secure as she has obviously now lost interest!

We are fortunate in that we have sold the house very quickly and have also had to be there for surveyors, EPC man, estate agent etc.

My question is this; as she is still legally the tenant until the 26th of October when we have arranged for meter readings and her returning keys what are her obligations to us, the landlords, until she moves the rest of her belongings?

Regards

Amy


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Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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14:38 PM, 16th October 2014, About 10 years ago

Hi Amy

This is a difficult one because I think any judge would decide that your tenant has been "reasonable".

She could just as easily have gone on holiday for a month. If she had done that, and been responsible enough to arrange for somebody to pop in and check on the house once a week, there wouldn't be a case to answer would there? I can't see how this would be any different.

Presumably you will be claiming on your insurance?

Any event which leads to an insurance claim is always inconvenient, nevertheless circumstances beyond our control do challenge us from time to time.
.

Amy Potterton

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19:14 PM, 16th October 2014, About 10 years ago

Thanks for your prompt reply Mark. You have said what I thought would be the case. We were thinking of buying a property to rent out which is just round the corner from where we live so we could in theory keep a closer eye on it.

Joe Bloggs

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10:12 AM, 17th October 2014, About 10 years ago

'we had a cold snap'
IS IT IN THE NORTH POLE? NO FREEZING CONDITIONS IN UK RECENTLY. SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU ARE BLAMING TENANT FOR A LEAK THAT IS YOURE RESPONSIBILITY.

Colin Dartnell

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20:21 PM, 17th October 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "17/10/2014 - 10:12":

Summed it up a treat Joe Bloggs. well said!

"had to be there to let everyone in" It is your house Amy and you have been collecting rent for 11 years!!

Sally T

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22:14 PM, 17th October 2014, About 10 years ago

'Turned off all the heating', we haven't switched ours on yet.
Without sounding rude, it's your choice to live 20 miles away from your property. Sounds to me like your tenant has been fair giving you proper notice and allowing you to access the property as much as needed to help you sell it.
Sounds like the perfect tenant 🙂

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9:55 AM, 18th October 2014, About 10 years ago

I live in Somerset and have some houses in Middlesbrough. I therefore pay a letting agent to look after them for me. You have saved about 10% of the rent over the last 11 years so I think that you could afford to employ a local agent to manage this for you if it is really too much for you to travel there yourself. I'm sure one would agree to offer this short term service for a fee.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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11:02 AM, 18th October 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jerry Jones" at "18/10/2014 - 09:55":

I cant imagine an agent going in more than once a week, can you Jerry?

I suspect this burst pipe is just bad luck, bad timing and nothing whatsoever to do with the weather.
.

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11:19 AM, 18th October 2014, About 10 years ago

I suspect the same as regards the pipe.

I have a chap in M'boro who has a key for both my props in the horrid area and will meet trades and other people for a very modest fee (£13.50 for an empty property check visit). I met him through being the managing agents' handyman and he now deals directly with me with their blessing.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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11:22 AM, 18th October 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jerry Jones" at "18/10/2014 - 11:19":

Sounds like a useful chap to know Jerry. Nevertheless, I doubt you ask him to check more often then weekly?
.

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11:52 AM, 18th October 2014, About 10 years ago

Not routinely, but when I had work going on there he would pop round to let people in when needed, often several times a week. I put quite a bit of other work his way too, of course.

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