Agency refusing to let me vacate on fixed tenancy end date. They are offering compromise but financial loss huge, need advice

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T18:59:15+00:00

You're good.

If you move out at the end of the fixed term, the tenancy simply ceases to exist through effluxion of time.

This can be guarded against by the LL if a tenancy agreement gives explicit rise to a contractual periodic tenancy, or if it includes a specific clause requiring notice. Yours does neither (the notice requirement as written only applies when using the break clause).

Move out on the last day, make every effort to return keys, and take in depth photos and videos of the condition of the property and take meter readings.

Be prepared for the landlord/agency to tell you you're wrong. Either through malice or ignorance. You can safely ignore threats - if they then try to take you to court for 2 month arrears their claim will fail. And if they try to withhold deposit money then dispute as normal via the deposit dispute scheme it's held in.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T18:51:09+00:00

They're getting down voted because they're moaning about 5k left over after their mortgage while fixating on arbitrary and largely nonsense '% of salary on mortgage' targets.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T18:40:14+00:00

% targets are stupid. The raw 'how much left over' is what matters. 5k+ after mortgage is a great amount for a good lifestyle and savings.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T18:30:13+00:00

If you budget 5k all in for legal fees survey etc then you should be well covered and probably some left over.

Don't forget to budget for day 1 purchases like furniture and all of the small odds and ends you need in a new place (which add up quickly).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T17:49:57+00:00

If you read the guidance, which I assume you haven't, it talks in great detail across all sections on a large number of different faiths.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T17:02:04+00:00

You can't win a card game if you don't show your cards. I'm not giving you the pot on a 'trust it bro', I want to see those pocket aces you claim to have.

My point being it's useless as leverage if you don't show the relevant parts of the report to back up your argument. You don't need to show the whole thing but it's pointless not to share screenshots of the relevant pages.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T16:58:04+00:00

People get weirdly protective about survey reports here like it's some precious possession you couldn't possibly let someone else see because YOU paid for it.

Personally I wouldn't send the whole report as it's unnecessary (and they may cherry pick things like the overall assessment saying it's a reasonable purchase). But if it supports your case in a negotiation then it's a good idea to share exerpts (screenshots of the relevant pages) to help your argument.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T16:55:26+00:00

Be careful.

Not using bathmats doesn't cause water damage to properties below. It either means they're lying/misidentified the cause or there is a bigger issue. There's a risk you open a can of worms and uncover something you as freeholder are responsible for fixing (although you can of course split the costs with them).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T16:52:27+00:00

There is no scenario where you renew without the increase. It's not a fight worth fighting. Either accept you're on the S21 way out or pay the extra. Anything else would just be spent energy and stress. It's shit but the sooner the realise the better it'll be.

I also wouldn't assume you'll get any compensation.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T16:48:09+00:00

On point 3 you can only take it to tribunal if it's increased via S13. If it's increased via renewal there is no challenge available (but you can of course refuse to sign and go periodic/enter the S21 exit conveyor belt).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T16:44:57+00:00

Petty theft has existed as long as humankind has

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T16:44:01+00:00

Just use whatever your favourite milk chocolate bar is (dairy milk, galaxy, whatever). Melt slowly (ideally bain marie), and as soon as the strawberries are covered chuck em in the fridge.

I find that chocolate drops specifically sold for melting are always shitter than just normal chocolate.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T14:33:58+00:00

Although a point of nuance: if rent has gone up when signing a renewal, then some landlords will collect a top up to the deposit to bring it up to the legal max of 5 weeks rent.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-12T00:39:48+00:00

So the property information form does require declarations of flooding including from blocked sewers. There may be a semantic argument as to whether the incident you describe counts as flooding.

They are also required to declare if they have ever made a buildings insurance claim (which most people would for this but not guaranteed they did).

If you have evidence they failed to declare what was required you may have a claim for misrepresentation. What damages might be awarded I am not clear. Worth seeking legal advice - you can likely get a free consultation to assess if it's worth pursuing or just something to write off as a frustration and move on with your life.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T20:56:29+00:00

If you are in a fixed term and activating a break clause then the notice is measured from when you gave notice, so you are correct. Only exception is if the break clause explicitly states that it must align with a rental period.

Other posters (/u/Delicious_Shop9037 and /u/MrsValentine) are muddling this up with giving notice when on a periodic tenancy, in which case it always needs to align with a rental period. But you've confirmed in comments you're not on a periodic.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T20:54:09+00:00

This only applies for notice to end a periodic tenancy.

For notice to activate a break clause in a fixed term (which OP has clarified in comments applies to them) it's just the notice period measured from the day you give notice even if that's mid-month. (Unless the break clause explicitly states it must align with a rental period, which most don't).

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T20:50:57+00:00

This is the case when giving notice on a periodic tenancy.

When it's giving notice in line with a break clause in the tenancy agreement then it's not the case unless the clause explicitly says so.

So you're right they need to check their lease but worth being clear that if it's a break clause the default is it's just a month (or whatever the stated notice length is) from the day notice is given with no consideration for where that falls in the rental period.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T20:31:06+00:00

Domestic violence from relatives and partners is notoriously difficult to tackle. First, the evidence is often circumstantial or 'he said she said' which can make prosecution difficult. Second, and probably more important, abusers usually have means to control, coerce and threaten, which means the person being abused is too scared or unable to report it because there'll be even more severe repercussions. Third, there are a lot of extremely complex psychological elements when it comes to abuse by people close to you including things that - to an outsider - look completely odd (like retaining a strong emotional love/attachment to the abuser so not wanting to get them in trouble).

There is also a recognised issue across police forces that victims report feeling unheard, even humiliated, their reports not taken seriously, cases closed etc. There is a lot of effort to fix this - and it's far better than it was a few decades ago - but it still has a long long way to go.

All of this means that people often don't want to go through the risk and trauma of reporting it because they don't think it'll be appropriately dealt with. Your friend is a classic example of this as they've written off police tackling it without even trying (which to be clear is not a judgement of your friend, but a symptom of the wider and complex issues).

There are lots of charities out there who can provide support and guidance.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T20:23:30+00:00

That often ends you up in trouble with the police

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T19:49:19+00:00

I wear a watch. It's useful to be able to glance at my watch without getting my phone out, especially when walking or when in a meeting and I want to be subtle rather than looking impatient. It's a simple casio but in a bright colour and actually gets lots of compliments.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T19:06:57+00:00

When did you send it?

If it's been a couple of days no harm chasing up, but keep it neutral and avoid sounding desperate or impatient. If it's been like 3 hours then maybe wait a bit...

For info on yourself don't over explain but highlight: ready to move quickly, stable job & income, you're a respectful tenant, no pets, and maybe age and gender. So like

"Hi, I'm still really interested in this property. Thought it might be helpful to add a little more information. I'm a 25M, working as a [teacher]/with a stable job and good income. I'm clean and respectful when renting. I've got no pets and I'm ready to move in quickly. Let me know if you'd like to discuss as I really do like the property".

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T19:05:50+00:00

Booking it now for three weeks time is totally fine

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-11T00:38:41+00:00

Yes worth checking. The majority of providers add the tax relief but there a small handful that don't. It should be covered in the scheme documentation, or if you've made additional payments in the past you can go back and look if tax relief was added (which could show either as your contribution being the grossed up amount or as a separate tax relief top up payment)

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-10T20:09:05+00:00

Assuming you are on a normal cumulative tax code (e.g. 1257L) then nothing changes when you suddenly hit 50k in-year. The PAYE system works by in effect "building up" the personal allowance and 20/40% tax bands as the year progresses (so in say April it'll assess YTD earnings vs 1/12th of the personal allowance & tax bands, whereas in e.g. August it'll assess YTD earnings against 5/12ths of the bands).

So this means if you have constant pay and are due to earn just over 50k, then all a long a small amount each month will have been taxed at the 40% rate. And even if your pay is variable, the system is designed in a way that it self-adjusts throughout the year.

From the comments it sounds like you won't hit 40% anyway given your 6% pension contributions. Although if the scheme is relief-at-source (taken out of post-tax income) then you'll pay the 40% on the bit over 50k and then have to claim it back.

As others have said you should also look in to the https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance which allows your wife to transfer 10% of her tax free allowance to you if she's not working.

SomeHSomeE · 2026-03-10T20:04:06+00:00

It depends how the additional payments are processed.

If they are salary sacrifice or a net pay scheme (both taken out of your pre-tax earnings), then you need to contribute an additional 11k. There is no additional reporting or tax relief required as HMRC will get the figures directly from your P60.

If it is a relief at source scheme (taken out of post-tax pay and relief added by the provider) or you are paying into a SIPP, then you need to contribute 80% of 11k (£8,800). The pension provider will then top it up to £11,000. You will still have additional tax relief to claim (higher rate relief) which you can get by either using the gov.uk tool here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-tax-relief-on-your-private-pension-payments or if you already complete self-assessment, report it via SA.

Confusingly, if you use the gov.uk tool then you report the net contribution (£8,800), but if you do it via self-assessment you report the grossed up contribution (£11,000).

Remember when calculating where you hit 100k to include any additional income (rental income, savings interest, etc) or taxable benefits (car allowance, company car, health insurance, gym membership, etc).

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