There has been a recent case looking at the issue of “No DSS” policies adopted by Letting Agents. This arose at trial in Birmingham County Court where Mr Tyler brought a claim against a letting agent who operated a “no DSS” policy.
As most landlords know there have been many changes at very short notice to the requirements for Notice to tenants. One of these changes has just come in to force on 29th August and it is now a requirement that tenants are given 6 months’ notice. This will apply to almost all notices. If you would like any advice on this, or on any other landlord and tenant issues please do not hesitate to contact our litigation team on 01273 582271 or litigation@barwells.com
Nobody would dispute that one of the sad repercussions of these difficult months is the fact that a large number of people may find themselves being made redundant or being offered a settlement agreement.
A settlement agreement is an agreement between you and your employer where you give up your right to bring any claim against the employer in exchange for a sum of compensation. In some settlement agreements the compensation sum can be quite high but in others the offer can be relatively modest.
A settlement agreement can cover situations where there is a potential redundancy, disciplinary, or where parties simply wish to no longer work together but the employer wants to comfort of knowing that the employee will never be able to bring a claim against them.
If you have been consulted by your Employer in relation to a redundancy situation and have been given a settlement agreement it is vital that you seek independent legal advice from a relevant advisor in relation to this to ensure it is legally binding. Your settlement agreement should contain certain information which the relevant advisor will need to ensure is contained in the agreement and which you will be made aware of. Such information includes the names of the parties involved, the amount of the redundancy payment and any other benefits or holiday accrued that you are entitled to. One of the most important aspects of the agreement is whether it contains a provision which waives the ability to claim statutory rights. The rights that are being waived must be specifically included, such as those relating to unfair dismissal, redundancy payments, discrimination claims or holiday pay.
We have recently become involved in a matter where the issue of which tenants have given notice on behalf of which tenants has become problematic.
We have been instructed by Landlords who have let accommodation to three tenants. The tenancy agreement is on the basis that the tenants are jointly and severally liable for the rent.
One of the tenants has given notice to the Landlords. The notice is stated as being on behalf of all of the tenants. The Landlords have found new tenants and everything seemed to be fine.
The Landlords have now instructed us because just 1 week before the new tenants are due to move in they have found out that one of the three tenants did not actually intend to leave and therefore did not give Notice and does not agree that the person who gave Notice on her behalf had her permission to do so. This has understandably caused our clients enormous stress.
