So we have renovated our PPOR and split it into 2, completely separate. tenants have 3 bedrooms 1 bathroom.
basic rental agreement was done with a fixed agreement for 1 year. contract is pretty basic and unfortunately does not go into detail about tenants breaking the lease but clearly states the lease is fixed ending on X date.
after 3 months ago the tenants emailed me while i was away at work and gave me less than a weeks notice saying they would be moving out on the weekend ( i was back home on the monday) they had money issues and could no longer afford to pay. i said okay when can we arrange return of the keys, can you keep the place clean etc, i did not want to mention the issue of the bond while i was away as i did not want them to damage the place. i have never said to them okay you can break the lease this is not a problem for me e.g. mutual termination of contract.
monday afternoon i picked up the keys, the same day we discussed via text message the issue of the bond. i said i will be holding onto the bond and use it to cover costs lost in rent while looking for new tenant. i received a reply saying 'no worries' 2 months later we have organized a suitable money but the bond has not covered this loss of rent fully. i have just received a phone call from old tenants 2 months after they have left saying they want there bond back.
there reasons are as follows
-they claimed i agree that it was okay for them to leave early , which is not the case. i basically say in the email ' okay your leaving so when are you leaving and when can you drop the keys off, please keep the place tidy' nothing about bond return was mentioned in this email.
-they are claiming that technically they are not tenants they are lodgers/boarders since they don't have ecslusive rights to the property. because of this they say my contract is void and that there shouldn't have been a bond to start with and that the bond is only used for damages to the property, not for breaking a agreement early.
-i have not lodged the bond officially and have kept it in my personal account.
any advice on this situation and where i stand/what i can do would be much appreciated.
cheers
blair
basic rental agreement was done with a fixed agreement for 1 year. contract is pretty basic and unfortunately does not go into detail about tenants breaking the lease but clearly states the lease is fixed ending on X date.
after 3 months ago the tenants emailed me while i was away at work and gave me less than a weeks notice saying they would be moving out on the weekend ( i was back home on the monday) they had money issues and could no longer afford to pay. i said okay when can we arrange return of the keys, can you keep the place clean etc, i did not want to mention the issue of the bond while i was away as i did not want them to damage the place. i have never said to them okay you can break the lease this is not a problem for me e.g. mutual termination of contract.
monday afternoon i picked up the keys, the same day we discussed via text message the issue of the bond. i said i will be holding onto the bond and use it to cover costs lost in rent while looking for new tenant. i received a reply saying 'no worries' 2 months later we have organized a suitable money but the bond has not covered this loss of rent fully. i have just received a phone call from old tenants 2 months after they have left saying they want there bond back.
there reasons are as follows
-they claimed i agree that it was okay for them to leave early , which is not the case. i basically say in the email ' okay your leaving so when are you leaving and when can you drop the keys off, please keep the place tidy' nothing about bond return was mentioned in this email.
-they are claiming that technically they are not tenants they are lodgers/boarders since they don't have ecslusive rights to the property. because of this they say my contract is void and that there shouldn't have been a bond to start with and that the bond is only used for damages to the property, not for breaking a agreement early.
-i have not lodged the bond officially and have kept it in my personal account.
any advice on this situation and where i stand/what i can do would be much appreciated.
cheers
blair