Termination of lease by landlord

rathivr · Post by **rathivr** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 10:35 am

Hi,

I just renewed my TA less than a month ago. After the paperwork has been sorted,my landlord now wants to terminate the lease.
It is very frustrating as the initial TA was to end on the 15th of December 2013, we just resigned 2 -3 weeks ago and yesterday,which is the 15th of December, my agent informs us that the landlord wants to terminate the lease. I am not keen to move.
How do I go about this?

Rathi

Beeroclock · Post by **Beeroclock** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 11:18 am

Interestingly there is another recent thread about tenant needing to break lease, so this is the other side of the coin. Can you give more details.... Has the landlord given any reason for the termination ? Also you said the initial TA ending 15 Dec, when did it start? And renewal TA has been signed, but what is the term/ end date of the renewed TA? Also what does your cancellation clause say in the TA, does Landlord have right to terminate by serving notice? On the surface it would seem as you are currently in the place and have completed a renewal agreement you should have rights to oppose the termination but without more details it's difficult to advise much

AngMoG · Post by **AngMoG** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 11:18 am

rathivr wrote:Hi,

I just renewed my TA less than a month ago. After the paperwork has been sorted,my landlord now wants to terminate the lease.
It is very frustrating as the initial TA was to end on the 15th of December 2013, we just resigned 2 -3 weeks ago and yesterday,which is the 15th of December, my agent informs us that the landlord wants to terminate the lease. I am not keen to move.
How do I go about this?

Rathi

It all depends on how far along you are in the paperwork. Most notably, has the new contract been signed by both parties, and do you have a copy? If yes, then he cannot legally force you to move out, and in your place I would negotiate a contract breaking fee on the side of the landlord, if he really wants you out. If no to any of this, it will be difficult for you to stay, though I would negotiate a grace period, as he cannot expect you to move out one day to the next.

rathivr · Post by **rathivr** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 11:33 am

Thank you for your reply.
Both parties have signed the TA, we also have got it stamped as well.

Beeroclock · Post by **Beeroclock** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 12:01 pm

Assuming your TA has no special termination clause allowing the Landlord to do this, then surely you can just hold your ground (literally) per contract. If they keep insisting I would ask the landlord to put it in writing exactly what he is asking for and why, before you respond anything formally.

ecureilx · Post by **ecureilx** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 12:43 pm

did the landlord give any hint as to why ??

rathivr · Post by **rathivr** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 12:53 pm

Thanks for your replies.
All that was said was due to family problems. We will be meeting both
( landlady's and ours) agents tonight, will see how it goes.
We have never had any contact with the landlady.
We usually liase through the agents.

AngMoG · Post by **AngMoG** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 1:30 pm

rathivr wrote:Thanks for your replies.
All that was said was due to family problems. We will be meeting both
( landlady's and ours) agents tonight, will see how it goes.
We have never had any contact with the landlady.
We usually liase through the agents.

Well, as others above noted - the landlady cannot legally force you to move out, unless any of the circumstances in the contract apply (usually stuff like natural disasters and the like).

That said, it would be better to come to an amicable solution that works for both sides, maybe giving you 1-2 months to move out. Rents are easing up a bit, so it may even work in your favor. What I would be wary of is any financial trouble the landlady may be in, as that would affect when/if you get your deposit back.

rathivr · Post by **rathivr** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 2:11 pm

Thank you for all your replies.
It is just hard to understand, especially that this happens after 2-3 weeks of the renewing the TA. I agree both parties have to come to an amicable solution and I hope it is done sooner than later.
Once again, thank you very much for all your advice.

Post by **nakatago** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 2:27 pm

Beeroclock wrote:Assuming your TA has no special termination clause allowing the Landlord to do this, then surely you can just hold your ground (literally) per contract. If they keep insisting I would ask the landlord to put it in writing exactly what he is asking for and why, before you respond anything formally.

Unfortunately, the tenant would have no leverage in most cases. Me and my friends have been through this thrice already. For HDBs, those monkeys would only tell you to discuss things amongst yourselves and there is no law protecting a tenant.

The best bet outside of convincing the landlord would be to prevent it from happening again and ask for provisions in the TA in case the landlord breaks the lease (which we did on our last rental).

My advice to OP would be to be the most eloquent, the most articulate and the most persuasive person you can ever be because you have very little (if at all) legal standing to back you up.

Beeroclock · Post by **Beeroclock** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 3:34 pm

hi Nakatago, isn't the signed TA a good enough legal standing? I agree with you and AMG that it will always be best to find an amicable solution, but if you really can't reach compromise with owner and you need to insist to stay on there, how does the owner actually get you out of the property ?

Max Headroom · Post by **Max Headroom** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 3:55 pm

My landlord once had to sell the place barely halfway into the lease and the reason was validated by my agent; he really did have to sell.

But there was no question of terminating the lease and booting me. Instead, we had viewers over, potential buyers, every so often.

When the place was eventually sold, a few months later, it was with the lease in place, which I rode out till the end.

Sure, having viewers over at my place was a pain in the nether regions, but, well, given and take eh.

Post by **nakatago** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 4:00 pm

Beeroclock wrote:hi Nakatago, isn't the signed TA a good enough legal standing? I agree with you and AMG that it will always be best to find an amicable solution, but if you really can't reach compromise with owner and you need to insist to stay on there, how does the owner actually get you out of the property ?

Not unless there's an explicit clause in there which is not often the case. I'm talking from experience here.

If you want to insist on staying tooth, fang, and claw, is it worth the trouble? A landlord can suddenly find a lot of excuses that you were in breach. Like I said, a tenant doesn't have leverage.

Wd40 · Post by **Wd40** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 4:02 pm

OP, reach an amicable solution. For eg. Propose to the landlord that for the inconvenience his is causing, ask him to let you stay for free for 1 month and also return the agent fee that you paid(in case you paid). Its a win-win situation.

If the owner agrees, then take it. Dont be a tough tenant, just assume that the tenancy was not renewed at all, since its only 3 weeks.

taxico · Post by **taxico** » Mon, 16 Dec 2013 4:29 pm

1 month stay for free? if i were the landlord, i would take it in a flash (even if i had to pay the agent's fee).

whatever the case is, don't sign anything until the deposit's been fully returned. you can always sign stuff on the last day.

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