I moved into a 4 bedroom property in Hertfordshire, England under a 10 month contract. The contract was for one room, not the house. I had to leave the property after 3 months. However, I made a verbal agreement with my landlord that I could leave as long as I found someone to occupy the room and pay rent for the remainder of the contract. I did this and she signed a new contract AND paid another deposit. That was 5 months ago. Now he is having problems with the new tenant and says he will keep hers and my deposit if he doesn't get all the rent from her. I know this is unfair and I plan to take him to small claims court. BUT i'm worried in court he will say I ended the contract that I signed early. I think he will deny our verbal agreement. I paid all my 3 months rent. If he does do this, can i still get my deposit? I plan on writting him a letter threating court action.
Answer by orangemike
I am not a solicitor, but my darling wife always says, "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on."
Answer by angelsteps51
I would think that in court whatever your written lease says about breaking the lease, is more important the verbal agreement.
Answer by realestatelawyer
I can tell you the law in the US, which is that once he signed a new agreement with the new tenant, your agreement was terminated and you were no longer responsible for the rent. So if you were in the US he would not be able to keep your deposit. In fact, he would've been required to return your deposit within about 30 days after she moved in.
I know that the laws in the UK are similar but they may not be exactly the same.
Good luck!
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