Looking for some advice, I'll keep this as short as possible:
* Sister and her BF rent a house for £1350 per month, they have been there for 2 years and recently signed a new 12 month contract (starting 15th Dec) with a 6 month break clause (2 months notice)
* Last week three men dressed in black, armed with a very large knife, a hammer and baseball bat smashed into the property via a back glazed window and proceeded to assault my sister and her BF in a very violent manor (lots of blood, very serious). This was in the middle of the night, they stole some money and demanded things like car keys and watches but didn't get them.
* Sister and BF understandably are very shocked and both feel they can never return to the property
* The estate agent has 'negotiated' an early release with the landlord which amounts to "you must pay every penny of rent for the whole 12 months and you must pay all our fees to get someone new in". It even includes paying the estate agents commission that would normally be payable by the Landlord.
6 months rent works out to be around £8100, the estate agent currently have around £4300 of their money (2x months rent and £1500 ish for a deposit).
Sister cannot afford to pay this and live elsewhere, she cannot stay anywhere for free, she cannot return to the property. As far as we can see her options are:
1) Tell the EA and LL she is leaving and not paying anymore rent, she'll likely get a CCJ?
2) Continue the pay the rent but become homeless
The estate agent has said they understand the situation is exceptional but they and the landlord do not want to be a penny out of pocket.
As her new contract hasn't started yet (but has been signed by all parties) can she give notice using the old contract (as she's past the 6 month point in that one)?
* Sister and her BF rent a house for £1350 per month, they have been there for 2 years and recently signed a new 12 month contract (starting 15th Dec) with a 6 month break clause (2 months notice)
* Last week three men dressed in black, armed with a very large knife, a hammer and baseball bat smashed into the property via a back glazed window and proceeded to assault my sister and her BF in a very violent manor (lots of blood, very serious). This was in the middle of the night, they stole some money and demanded things like car keys and watches but didn't get them.
* Sister and BF understandably are very shocked and both feel they can never return to the property
* The estate agent has 'negotiated' an early release with the landlord which amounts to "you must pay every penny of rent for the whole 12 months and you must pay all our fees to get someone new in". It even includes paying the estate agents commission that would normally be payable by the Landlord.
6 months rent works out to be around £8100, the estate agent currently have around £4300 of their money (2x months rent and £1500 ish for a deposit).
Sister cannot afford to pay this and live elsewhere, she cannot stay anywhere for free, she cannot return to the property. As far as we can see her options are:
1) Tell the EA and LL she is leaving and not paying anymore rent, she'll likely get a CCJ?
2) Continue the pay the rent but become homeless
The estate agent has said they understand the situation is exceptional but they and the landlord do not want to be a penny out of pocket.
As her new contract hasn't started yet (but has been signed by all parties) can she give notice using the old contract (as she's past the 6 month point in that one)?
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