Hello all. I don’t post here much these days, but I’ve always found the advice from the forum members to be extremely useful over the years, on a number of topics. So here goes……
I moved into a rental property on the 1st of February, it was handled by a local estate agent. I signed a 6 month AST and paid a deposit. When I moved in, the landlord met me to hand over keys etc and told me I could stay as long as I wanted, his last tenants were in for 4.5 years, make the house my own etc etc. 6 weeks later, he rang me to tell me he was selling the property. Clearly this put me in a predicament as I needed to find a new place to live so I could set down some roots for me and the children. I parted ways with my former partner in December, all very amicable I must add, but kids taking it badly as can be expected. Rental properties around my way are scarce, with demand outstripping supply about 4 to 1. Luckily I managed to find somewhere, but I had to move in on 1st of June or risk losing it. I approached the landlord to ask if he could help me by releasing me from my tenancy early. I was only in this situation as he had suddenly decided to sell the house. He said the best he could do was let me off with the last months payment, but would return my deposit (which is being held by a company called My Deposits).I was proposing to leave after 4 months, so 2 months left in original AST. I figured if this was the price I had to pay, so be it. I have found out today he has now taken the house off the market, and a new tenant is moving in tomorrow on a 12 month AST! So he has taken an extra month payment off me, and is being paid by new tenant also.
Have I just been unlucky? Or do I have some legal right to challenge him? I’ve not got my deposit back yet.
I’ve never resorted to aggression but I am very much tempted to drive to his house and forcibly remove my deposit and the extra month he has taken from me in blood.
