By signing the tenancy agreement the tenants have agreed to rent the property from you for the fixed term of the tenancy agreement and can only unilaterally end the tenancy early in accordance with a break clause.
If the tenant wants to end the tenancy early during the fixed term (and not by way of the break clause) then they will have to do this by negotiating a mutual surrender with you. A mutual surrender is where the Landlord and tenant sign a document agreeing that that the tenancy will end early. The conditions of the surrender can be agreed between the Landlord and the tenant and the Landlord may require the tenant to pay rent to cover the period until a new tenant is found and include this as a condition of the agreed surrender. You can find some more information about surrenders here.
There is no requirement for you as landlord to agree to a mutual surrender - technically the tenant has signed the tenancy agreement and is legally required to pay rent for the duration of the fixed term. Practically however it is often best to agree to a surrender so that you can end the tenancy, relist the property and find more reliable tenants.
What happens if the Tenants have told you that they are leaving early?
As stated above, the tenancy agreement requires the tenants(s) to pay rent for the entirety of the fixed term. The tenants cannot unilaterally end the tenancy before the end of the fixed term without using a break clause. If the tenants are saying that they are leaving during the fixed term and are not using a break clause then you can remind them that they are legally responsible for paying the rent for the entirety of the fixed term as per the tenancy agreement. The best course of action may then be to negotiate a surrender with them (see here for more info), as pursuing tenants for missed rent, especially through the courts, is often a long process.
What happens if the Tenants have told you that they have already left?
If the tenants have told you that they have left early and/or have returned the keys to you then you should seek to remarket the property.
The outgoing tenants will be liable for the missed rental income for the period it takes you to re-let the property. You should contact the deposit scheme and tell them that you wish to claim unpaid rent for this period from the deposit.
If the missed rent is more than is covered by the deposit or if there have been damages to the property over and above what is covered by the deposit then you may wish to claim this from the tenants. If you have rent guarantee insurance then you should check your policy terms.
If you do not have rent guarantee insurance then the process for claiming money from the tenants for sums over and above what is covered by the deposit is through the courts and can be done by using the Money Claims Online portal. This is not a quick process, you will have to produce court documents and attend a court hearing. You should think carefully about whether you wish to pursue this process and if necessary seek independent legal advice. There is more information in this article about the process.
What happens if the Tenants appear to have left, however it is not certain?
You will need to be careful in this situation as evicting a tenant without a court order is a criminal offence
If the tenant is still paying rent then you should assume that the tenancy is ongoing. If the tenant has stopped paying rent then you should write to them and remind them that they will continue to be liable for rent payments until the tenancy has been legally ended and that you will intend to pursue them in the courts for this if necessary.
Most tenancy agreements will enable landlords to carry out inspections of the property with reasonable notice and if the tenant is not responding or paying rent then it may be worthwhile undertaking an inspection of the property.
Again you must not seek to repossess/remarket the property unless you are certain that the tenant has already left. If the tenants belongings have been removed with the keys left behind then this will be a strong indication that the tenants have left however you should make every effort to be certain of this.
If you are certain that the tenants have left and are no longer paying rent then you may seek to remarket the property. The tenants will remain liable for missed rent until you find a replacement tenant. You should contact the deposit scheme and tell them that you seek to claim unpaid rent from the deposit.
If the missed rent is more than is covered by the deposit then you may wish to claim this from the tenants. If you have rent guarantee insurance then you should check your policy terms. If you do not have rent guarantee insurance then you may wish to claim unpaid rent over and above what is covered by the deposit then you will have to do this through Money Claims Online portal. The process is described in more detail in this article.
If you are not certain that the tenants have left then you must not repossess the property without a court order as this is a criminal offence. The first step to repossessing the property will be serving either a Section 8 or Section 21 notice as appropriate to end the tenancy. Please see this article for more information on serving notices and you may need to take independent legal advice if you are in this position. You will be able to make a claim for unpaid rent either through your rent guarantee insurance or through the courts as part of the process of repossessing the property or separately through the Money Claims Online portal.Information on this site is by way of general guidance only and may not apply in your particular circumstances. You should not act or refrain from acting upon information on this site without seeking independent legal advice.