Colleague of mine at work is heading back to Oz at the end of this month. She's been renting a flat for around 14 months, with a flatmate, originally on a 12 month contract (which ran from 1SEP09-1SEP10). Back in July of this year they received a letter from their agent as per below (all I've taken out is the address and tenants name). They signed this and sent it back, no problems. Now the time has come to move on and they have given their one months notice, however the agent is telling them that they're on a new 12 month lease and cannot break it? They've graciously said that if my mate can find a tenant that passes their vetting etc then they may consider allowing them to take on the lease, or they can advertise for a tenant at a charge of £360...
Flat 201 letter by ten_sim, on Flickr
Now, my understanding of this letter is that the agent has clearly advised them that they are now Statutory Periodic Tenants, right? I guess the tricky line is the 'at the end of the above stated period', is this what the agent is using to claim a new 12 month lease has been agreed to?
Any and all advice welcomed, my colleague is at her wits end because her flat mate is over in NZ for work and has just advised that she'll be staying there till April at least, so it's all been dumped in her lap to sort out, in addition to all the other things she needs to do before going home permanently!
