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We've a property vacant and seeking a tenant.
Agents have brought us one option offering 18% below agents marketed rental amount but the (our) agents won't tell us what dates the prospective tenancy will start.
They currently live 2 doors away and the local unofficial grapevine suggests their current landlord has given then 2mo notice. Potentially therefore looking for a 1st March start.
If a landlord gives them their 2mo notice, can they leave 1 month early and not have to pay that 2nd mo rent?
I have googled but this doesn't seem to get addressed anywhere.
I'm happy to sacrifice some monthly revenue for a decent tenant, but I'd prefer to offset this by starting the 'reduced' rental income a month early.
I'd prefer not to accept this reduced rate then get presented with paperwork from the agents for a 1st Mar start.
but conversely, if the tenants cant leave their existing notice period early and put that last month rent into out pockets then there's not much point putting that forwards
tia
I'd be more interested to know the reason the previous landlord gave them notice in the first instance 😕
Get a report off him/her as to how good tenants they were.
I think they can. I no longer use ASTs as they are not valid in Scotland but from memory if the landlord gives notice its 2 months but if the tenant does its one month ( from rental date not an arbitrary date in the middle of a rental month) on the standard AST contract
however would you be happy if another landlord did that to you?
When you say " 18% below agents marketed rental amount" was the agent asking too much? 'cos most of the UK the rental market is bonkers with folk desparate to rent. I do let for significantly below market rent for 2 reasons 1) I make plenty off it anyway and 2) it gives me a huge choice of tenants and no void periods
if they are within their current 6 or 12 month contract, they can ask, but the landlord doesn't have to give into their request. If they are on a rolling month-to-month contract they'll have a notice period within the contract (unlikely to be as short as 4 weeks, but it might be) that they're able to leave after.
I'd echo the two points made above:
Why are they being evicted?
Why are the agents bringing you a tenant for under the advertised rate?
Pretty much nowhere is going for under the advertised rate, lots end up in bidding wars. It's hard enough to get a viewing let alone to the point of negotiating the rent down for tenants currently.
Sounds like you need a better agent. Isn't this what you pay them for, to deal with this sort of crap so you don't have to?
I believe their current landlord is looking to renovate and sell but appreciate the point.
Yep, we were surprised that we've only had the one viewing in a couple of months, hence the real consideration on the offer we do have.
Could be the agent was asking too much but the place was rented to the same single tenant 2015-2020 for 40pcm less that this offer.
I believe this was framed via the agent as an "all they can afford" offer and shown to them based on the location convenience vs moving more than 25m.
I might have to look at the comparables.. which I'd hoped was the agents job 😉
are the agents reducing their fee by 18%
Do you live anywhere near the rental? I live next door to mine and don't use an agent. a pal of mine has a rental that he is an hours drive from. He ditched his agent and went direct 'cos the agents were crap. Its not hard to DIY it. Standard rental contracts are available FOC from government websites along with a list of all the requirements you need to do / steps to take to make it a legal rental
Have you advertised on gumtree? thats where I get my tenants from. Last time i advertised it I had a dozen enquiries within an hour and rented it in 3 hours.
Landlord here, just been round the agents to get proper info. The asking rents are c40% up on last year and only foreign students are paying that level. SW London.
Mine are c20% below the market, long term tenants like 10+ years. Look after place and have a nice quiet life, like me.
I personally wouldn't chase top rent, appreciate some people don't have the choice, but rents are stupidly high and it's people's homes so they don't really have a choice.
If it were mine I d use void to decorate and wait for right tenant.
however would you be happy if another landlord did that to you?
Not wanting to get into the good/evil landlord thing, but if you kick someone out of their you can't really complain that they didn't deal with the disruption you forced on them* in a way most financially beneficial to you.
*Yes, some people are evicted because they're horrible people, but presumably not the case here as the OP wouldn't be trying to get them into his property.
Sounds like you need a better agent. Isn’t this what you pay them for, to deal with this sort of crap so you don’t have to?
You don't let a property? ..a more shady bunch of useless ar**holes, who charge extra for absolutely the smallest extra, and anything is an extra in their eyes IME.
You don’t let a property? ..a more shady bunch of useless ar**holes, who charge extra for absolutely the smallest extra, and anything is an extra in their eyes IME.
+1
They are all completely useless.
When I was renting my landlady went private with me as I already kinda knew her, and when she saw what value she actually got from the agents contractually V's the percentage they took!
For better agents, I've used this company before and they were really good - https://www.theonlinelettingagents.co.uk/
You create and advert and take photos, they get it on rightmove, handle questions and viewing requests etc. You do the viewings and tell them who you want to go for, they then do all the paperwork, credit checks and take care of the deposit. They have different options and prices depending how much you are willing to do yourself.
Our agent is very good. Charges are reasonable and do everything for us. We changed tenants just before Christmas and the rent went up 15% from the previous ones which in itself was an increase on their predecessors. We still had our choice of tenants
I would be surprised if the rental market in your area OP has not gone up too. Have you check comparables on right move
To your original question it depends what’s in their current contract and how long they have been there. If they are still in a fixed period then they are probably liable for the rent. If the contract has gone beyond that then a months notice is more likely
One viewing sounds poor in current market. I've used Agents to find tenants and do checks then put them on 6 month lease. If all good manage it myself and reduce rent by the amount I was paying the agency every month.
To answer your question, yes it can happen. I did it when we were renting a place that then sold, but I think it's a "by mutual agreement" situation. I'd guess that if their current landlord is keen to move the place on, he'll agree to them leaving early (and ending the tennancy), but there's a chance he's booked trades from 1st March when he expects it to be vacant and won't want to lose out on rent.
Get your agent to sound them out, perhaps? I'd have thought "I'll accept their offer if the tennacy starts by the 1st of Feb" would at least get them to ask their current landlord where they stand.
Thanks all.
I'm 4500 miles removed so don't have the ability to self manage.
Prospective tenants are current clients of our agents so they come with references.
The most frustrating thing is the agents asking for our agreement on the reduced rent before prospective tenants will discuss dates.. bonkers, the agent has all the info they need.
They would also have their current t&c as far ending their current lease early so ive no idea why they haven't just provided a complete picture.