Luckily any potential liability to the new tenants has been avoided as a result of swift action but the outgoing tenants remain liable for the rent even though they no longer live there because the contract is still in place and they are jointly and severally liable for all rent payments.
The correspondence in this matter has been lengthy and the legal costs have been relatively high. This is a situation that could have been easily avoided.
We therefore advise that any Landlord accepting notice where he/she has a number of tenants in the property make sure that they receive written notice from each of the tenants or notice from one tenant but signed by each of the tenants to ensure that each tenant is aware that they are giving notice and they are leaving on the agreed date.
If you would like advice on this or any other issues regarding the Landlord and Tenant matters, please do not hesitate to contact the litigation department in our Peacehaven office on 01273 582271 or litigtaion@barwells.com