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Landlord broke agreement before we moved in!


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Further more, can this LL actually sue us for loss of rent when it is clearly stated that the LL has no intention of moving out or re-renting the property?

 

** On the up side - Our new LL and agency are great - keep smilling I s'pose!! **

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I've registered just so I can give you my opinion.

 

Your prospective LL said they were going to breach the contract, you told them the consequences and attempted to reach an agreement on the compensation you would be entitled to.

 

The LL was adamant that they were going to breach the contract and asked for you adress to send the cheque to.

 

You gave the address while re-itterating the course of action you would pursue should the LL go ahead with the breach.

 

The LL sent you a cheque for the money there by confirming that she was breaching the contract

 

By cashing the cheque you acepted that th contract was being breached and naturally you acted quickly to minimise your losses like you are required to do and found another property.

 

Therefore I feel you are in a strong position.

 

I think you have 6 years to sue for your loss (although you should do it sooner)

Even if you don't sue she could sue you for the unpaid rent - your defence would be her emails telling you you can't have the flat and the fact she sent your cheque.

 

The threat of a couter claim is to put you off - once you've moved in to your new place quantify your losses and decide if it is worth sueing.

 

Just a though - she might claim that when she returned the deposit it was in full and final settlement.

 

I shall follw this thread with great interest.

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ok - I'll now look on these forums to see what we have to do next. We are sitting down tonight to work through our options.

 

Can anyone offer advice as to next steps? Any pro-forma letters we can amend for the LL lawyers?

 

Thanks,

M

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Just a though - she might claim that when she returned the deposit it was in full and final settlement.

 

 

 

she can try - it would never ever ever work.

7 years in retail customer service

 

Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years

 

By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.

 

Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.

 

Please click the star if I have helped!!

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Yep - issue an LBA stating you expect x within 14 days or you shall begin legal proceedings.

7 years in retail customer service

 

Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years

 

By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.

 

Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.

 

Please click the star if I have helped!!

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I like this bit of law (from Wikipedia):

 

[edit] Anticipatory breach

 

A breach by anticipatory repudiation (or simply anticipatory breach) is an unequivocal indication that the party will not perform when performance is due, or a situation in which future non-performance is inevitable. An anticipatory breach gives the non-breaching party the option to treat such a breach as immediate, and, if repudiatory, to terminate the contract and sue for damages (without waiting for the breach to actually take place).

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So this all hinges on what an "acceptance of breach" is defined as.... If cashing the cheque does this and signing a new tenancy agreement, then we are home free.... (see below) Any advice?

 

 

What is a breach of Contract? What are the rights of the injured party and the liabilities of the defaulting party? These are some of the main issues raised to an estate agent by his clients. While an estate agent shall not give legal advice to his clients, it is important that he knows the answers to the above questions.

 

A breach of contract occurs when a party to the contract, breaks an obligation imposed on him, by contract. There are two types of breach; one is by repudiation and the other by way of anticipatory breach.

 

Repudiation of a contract takes place when a party to the contract, renounces the contract, makes its performance impossible or fails to perform his obligation under the contract. An Anticipatory breach, takes place when a party, expresses an intention either by word or conduct, before the time for performance of his obligation has arrived, that he does not wish to perform its obligations pursuant to the contract.

 

The innocent party may then accept the breach, discharge the contract and claim damages or seek to affirm the contract. The courts prefer that where damages are sufficient to compensate the innocent party, he should not be allowed to try and affirm the contract, especially if it poses a greater detriment to the defaulting party.

 

Remedies are the means by which the default of one party is redressed. The main forms of remedies available to an injured party are damages, specific performance and injunction. We shall look at each of these remedies individually and explore how they can be applied when a breach takes place in different contractual situations.

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Read this bit closely also:

 

However, the repudiation can be retracted by the promising party so long as there has been no material change in the position of the performing party in the interim. A retraction of the repudiation restores the performer's obligation to perform on the contract.

7 years in retail customer service

 

Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years

 

By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.

 

Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.

 

Please click the star if I have helped!!

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yeah.... our situation defo HAD changed. Had it not there would be no question that we would have taken the flat.... It was only because we had signed a new contract and were going through the credit check process that we did not.....

 

Also, the lawyers refuse to copy me in on any of this. I have heard nothing except what my flatmate has Cc'd me on in resposes back to them.

 

This is quite strange is it not being as I also signed the joint contract?

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As it is a joint contract, no real need to copy you both in - one can be seen as representing the other. Nothing strange about it.

 

By the way....REALLY want to see this go to court!!! :)

7 years in retail customer service

 

Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years

 

By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.

 

Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.

 

Please click the star if I have helped!!

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Me too... but I dont want to end up having to pay the 8month of rent....

 

Thats the only downside, we need to get advice on that before we start legal proceedings.....

 

The actual cost of this is only £150 if the claim is below £3000, is that correct?

 

also, do we have any LBA (I assume Letter Before Action?) examples? I cant find any on Google. Do I need a lawyer to write this?

 

Thanks,

M

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Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:29 We responded with:

 

I think you are missing the point - the reason that you are responsible is because you are breaching a contractual obligation in the contract, so by law I have a right of action against you which I could pursue in the courts. Under clause 1 of the Tenancy Agreement (page 2), you agreed to let the Property to me from 24th July. That is a binding obligation that you are now breaching. Conversely, I have a right to a year's lease as from 24th July. That isn't in question. I work in the real estate group of an investment bank and have discussed this with a lawyer in the team so I'm very certain of my rights and your obligations.

You cannot simply breach your obligations to me and thereby deny my rights under the agreement for lease without any recourse, as you suggest. If I took you to court, being as there is no question that you have breached the contract, I would certainly win and would be either entitled to damages or, more severely for you, specific performance (i.e. you would have to give me vacant possession of the flat). What I am seeking to do is to avoid that eventuality and agree compensation in order to settle the issue. However, if you do not wish to co-operate, I won't hesitate to commence proceedings against you.

 

The address for the initial deposit cheques (to be sent by Special Delivery) is xxxxxxx

 

I think the last line of your 2nd reply saves your skin!! Take that line away, and it reads that you are going to do everything in your power to make sure you get the flat for the 12 months as agreed, starting 24th July. I even read it that the proceedings you were going to start were to get vacant possession of the flat!

 

I was holding my breath all the way through, thinking that I completely see where her lawyer is coming from, but breathed a sigh of relief when you specified an address for the return of the deposit cheque, which does to me indicate that you are accepting the annulment of the contract.

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  • 1 month later...

Last email on 8th / Aug:

Dear Madam,

Thank you for your e-mail of 7th August 2008, the contents of which are noted.

We simply do not agree that the Tenancy Agreement was brought to an end as, by your own admission, the Tenancy Agreement was a legally binding contract that could not at that point in time be brought to an end. Close scrutiny of the e-mails passing between you and our client clearly show that you had every intention of holding our client to the contract and after taking legal advice our client was made aware that the Tenancy Agreement was in fact binding and had to be honoured.

Nowhere in your e-mails is reference made to you seeking alternative accommodation. Consequently, our client has now lost 6 months rental income.

We are instructed that our client will be paying you no compensation whatsoever and if you wish to commence legal proceedings, then a counterclaim for our client’s loss of rent will be issued against you and your co-tenant.

We are instructed to accept service of legal proceedings.

Yours faithfully

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