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Question Title: Out of season letting of holiday properties
| Question: 382 |
| Amongst the properties that I manage are two flats in a detached block. From Easter to the end of September the owner lets them out on a weekly basis as holiday accommodation. At the end of the summer I find tenants for the remaining six months - often to people looking to rent whilst they are looking to buy. The tenancy agreement clearly states the position and that the tenancy cannot continue after the end of the six month period. One of the tenants having found a suitable property to buy very quickly wants to pull out of the tenancy. I have told him that he will have to pay rent to the end of the period. He is not happy about this. Am I correct in my view regarding his liability for the rent?
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| Answer: |
| In an ordinary situation where a tenant leaves a tenancy during the fixed term he will be regarded as being in breach of the tenancy and the damages for that breach will be the amount of the rent for the remainder of the fixed term. However this will be subject to the landlord's duty to mitigate his loss. This means that the actual amount of the damages due to the landlord will be limited to the rent until a new tenant is found for the property and the costs of finding such a tenant. This particular case will be different as the tenant was aware that the property is used for holiday letting and it will not be possible to create another tenancy for the remaining period. The landlord has to make reasonable effort to mitigate his loss but where this is not possible then the tenant remains liable for damages for breach of the tenancy and in this case it will be the rent due for the remainder of the term.
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References:
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Pages:
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Hyperlinks:
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Letting Handbook |
Chapters 6, 9 & 12 |
letting-handbook-and-factsheets.html
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For more information, discuss on the Forum
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