Is this a fair lease cancellation policy?

[johnspake]

Hi Everyone!

I have been looking for an apartment to rent for over a month now and finally managed to find something that suits me. It's the first time I'll be signing the lease as the main tenant (I have been co-signing all this time) and I'm finding the cancellation policy a bit odd. Please have a look below.



A three month rental + commission for the Estate Agent "for the remainder of the lease period" seems a bit too steep to me. What are your thoughts on this? Should I negotiate these terms before signing the lease?

There is another clause that has the following:



Is it not unfair that the landlord can kick me out any time without any penalties and I have to pay a hefty penalty if I'm cancelling the lease?

Your suggestions and input would be greatly appreciated

 

[Foxhound5366]

Hmm yeah that's pretty strong. Usually it's more a case of you'll lose your deposit if you cancel early and no other tenant is found.

A lease agreement is like any other contract: don't sign it if you aren't willing to commit to it.

A bigger concern than penalties is that most new applications will check with your last landlord to see that everything went well ... so you'll struggle to find new accommodation if you don't leave them on good terms.

You are welcome to push back on that clause, and ask for it to be amended to something you will be comfortable with. The bulk of the risk will lie with you, because you're the one renting and the landlord owns the property All depends how much you want the apartment.

 

[Tomtomtom]

Landlord can't kick you out any time - you have to be in breach etc.

The agents are trying to mitigate the CPA that stipulates that you can cancel with 20 days' notice. They are trying to make it effectively a longer notice period. They would like to have you pay the entire remaining rental as a penalty but this is specifically disallowed by the Act. Three months is still pretty harsh. You could try changing it to two.

But if you think you might want to exit early you need to be prepared to find a replacement tenant yourself - if you are able to do this, you can expect to get away cleanly - after all there would be no loss to the agent / landlord.

 

[AsheT]

suggest you contact the rental tribunal, you need only provide 20 business days notice. I stand to be corrected but the only "penalty" the landlord can hold you to is the cost to advertise for a new tenant, and any repairs etc. Based on the lease above sounds like an agent/landlord that will be very difficult to refund monies owing to you even if you are in the right.

 

[Tomtomtom]

suggest you contact the rental tribunal, you need only provide 20 business days notice. I stand to be corrected but the only "penalty" the landlord can hold you to is the cost to advertise for a new tenant, and any repairs etc. Based on the lease above sounds like an agent/landlord that will be very difficult to refund monies owing to you even if you are in the right.

I think you have it wrong - the landlord is within their rights to cover costs, which would include lost rental.

However the crucial bit that the Rental Housing Tribunal might be interested in is the question of "reasonable steps" in 3.3.4. e.g. if tenant exits early, and then the landlord decides to just leave it empty while he does some maintenance or just sits on his hands, then he can't expect the tenant to cover lost rent.

 

[syntax]

3 months is really heavy.
I usually have up to 2 months in my agreements but try be as fair as possible and offer less if I find a replacement tenant under that time. (This is harder than it sounds and really depends on when the current tenant wants to leave, if its mid to end month its really hard to get a new tenant in a few days or a week, it usually takes another month after that)

I dont think immediate cancellation on a rental lease by the landlord is even legal unless there is a breach. Breach is different to cancellation.
Cancellation should be at least a full months notice from the Landlords side and not immediate.

 

[Barbarian Conan]

No.

There is no way I would sign something like "can be, but is in no way limited to XXXX".

 

[johnspake]

Thanks for your opinions guys.

Most of you have said immediate cancellation of contract by the landlord is illegal unless there is a breach by the tenant. Is this implied in the clause above or should I ask them to have this stated explicitly (I mean, the breach part).

Regarding the penalty, I will try and change it to 2 as most of you have suggested. I'll not sign the lease if this is not changed.

 

[RandomGeek]

@johnspake I'm interested - is that agreement from a small independent Estate Agent or is it from a big, well known chain?

That agreement seems heavily weighed against you I wont sign it in its current form

 

[johnspake]

@johnspake I'm interested - is that agreement from a small independent Estate Agent or is it from a big, well known chain?

That agreement seems heavily weighed against you I wont sign it in its current form

It's from a small independent estate agent. I really want this apartment so do you have any suggestions on what I should negotiate here?

 

[RedViking]

I don't think it is necessary "wrong", but I would let someone check that, specifically the wording. It sounds very one sided (like most lease agreements).

The landlord HAS TO follow the law for cancellations and evictions. That clause appears to be rubbish (I'm not an expert).

If you have been in breach of the contract, the landlord first has to give you 20 days (or was it two weeks), to rectify the problem.

Landlord can't just cancel the lease.

Anyways, I would highly suggest you get someone experience to take a good look at that contract, even if you means paying a lawyer.

 

[RonSwanson]

Thanks for your opinions guys.

Most of you have said immediate cancellation of contract by the landlord is illegal unless there is a breach by the tenant. Is this implied in the clause above or should I ask them to have this stated explicitly (I mean, the breach part).

Regarding the penalty, I will try and change it to 2 as most of you have suggested. I'll not sign the lease if this is not changed.

You cannot sign it as is, because now you know that it is contra bones mores. However if someone were to sign it and who didn't know it was illegal, and they declared a dispute at the RHT, then the RHT ought to adjudicate in favour of the tenant (regarding those clauses which are contrary to the Act).

 

[johnspake]

I don't think it is necessary "wrong", but I would let someone check that, specifically the wording. It sounds very one sided (like most lease agreements).

The landlord HAS TO follow the law for cancellations and evictions. That clause appears to be rubbish (I'm not an expert).

If you have been in breach of the contract, the landlord first has to give you 20 days (or was it two weeks), to rectify the problem.

Landlord can't just cancel the lease.

Anyways, I would highly suggest you get someone experience to take a good look at that contract, even if you means paying a lawyer.

Do you have any reference in the CPA regarding the eviction policy. I would like to send that to the agent to have it removed.

I have been given 5 days to decide before they can consider other applications and tomorrow is the fourth day. Don't think I have enough time for a lawyer. I don't think they are BSing me regarding other applications since it is quite a hot property and area.