mamoon2

Guys,

I'm in real need of some advise, i'll give you a bit of background info....

Me and the missus and our 10 week old baby currently rent a property from a private landlord. The house is great and the landlord and landlady have also been great. However the area is a bit rough, it wasnt a problem when we first moved into the house as we were not planning on having kids.

We have been in the house coming up to 1 year now, and in that time we have had both cars damaged, the front door and window Spray painted. Next door neightbours car was smashed up in front of his house. Amongst other things. Now the last straw came a week ago when at 9pm somebody put a lit cigarette through the letter box. My girlfriend shouted me and said "i can smell smoke really bad", i straight away put my hand in the furry things on the box and scooped out a cigarette still lit. It could have set fire to my carpet if it had of gone through.

Now this is just plain arson and i have to think about the safety of my family and my new baby. So i decide we are moving, within a week we have found a new house and sign a lease on the 29th of this month.

NOW THE PROBLEM..... i rang our current landlord and explained the problems and that i had to move my family away before and more danger can come to us.

Our current lease runs out on the 30th of September (this month) but the landlady says we must give a months notice from the next rent paying day, which is 1st October. This means we have to pay for the house even though we are moving out.

If my contract runs out this month, then surely i dont have to give any notice, i can just say "no thanks i'm moving on"

Can anyone shed any light, am i right in thinking this or will i have to payfor another month in this house.

By the way, they still have my £600 deposit (which i want back)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Vapid

You have to give notice even if the contract term is expiring. At least in most assured shorthold agreements I've seen which is probably what you're on.

If they want to hold you to it they can. If it was me I'd let you go to avoid any problems that might occur if you get ideas about revenge...........

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Of course you have to give a months notice. You have just given the landlord just 2 weeks to find another tennant.

Look at it the other way, if you were happy there with no intention of moving, would you be so accepting if the landlord gave you 2 weeks to get out?

The rules of the tennancy agreement protects both ways. I understand you want to get out ASAP, yet you're happy to stay until the 30th? If its not that urgent then in terms of affordability its probably best to delay the move an extra month.

mamoon2

We don't have much choice than to stay at the house until the 30th.

RMA26

Surely, if the contract ends on 30th Sep, thats It

It's the tennants choice as to the decision to stay or go, the written contract will give an end date & (i think) the one month notice will only be applicable during the contract only

Check with Citizens Advice.....

scoobynutta555

You have to give notice, not just run down to the date when the tenancy expires. I usually ask for 30 days notice. look on the contract you were given, it should state on there the amount of notice you should give.

Vapid

Many people assume that.They are wrong if we are talking about a standard shorthold agreement. Exactly as I already said.

taffyboyo

The contract would be one that the private landlord has drawn up with you, every contract is different and it should state on it how much notice is needed.

This could work both ways, and there are 2 important factors to consider;
1. You want your £600 back
2. The landlord wants his property looked after
(this could possibly go very wrong for both party's)

I would suggest a comprimise, pay him half a months rent/deposit and go at the end of the month,

check the contract first before anything else,

Taffy

mamoon2

Thanks guys. I will check with Citizens Advice

Tuts

Surely though if you still have to give notice at the end of the contract it makes having a fixed term contract pointless? Why not just say "rent my house but you have to give one months notice"?

Dave!

I think the standard notice on AST is two months prior to the end of the Agreement. So if the tenant wants out at the end of the term, then they give the LL two months to find another tenant.

It works both ways, you as a tenant would be entitled to the same two months notice if the LL wanted you out....although it can be a bit trickier for Landlords to enforce this.

I reckon you'll have to stump for the rent til the end of the AST agreement unless he (or you) finds a replacement tenant in the remaining period.

D.

salsa-king

this is a tricky one.

I had a tennant in for six months, new-years eve i get a text saying where do you want the keys putting!!!!!!???

the six months was up but there had been no mention of him wanting to move out etc. But the contract was only for those six months in affect.
now i ask a month before the contract ends if they are staying or going when the term ends.

I gave him his deposit back LESS cleaning costs etc etc.


a legal bob would be better to advise on how it works in this situation.

nomrally its 1 months notice to leave or if they leave before the tennacy ends you don't give the depoist back, i have heard of ppl sticking out for the rent that should have been apid during the term of the contract!

Thomas Wainwright

Legally it will depend on the terms of the contract you have signed. Every one i've seen will say the tenant was to give one months notice if the rent is paid monthly and 4 weeks notice if it is paid weekly.

There's nothing stopping you from moving, it's just you'll have to pay the months rent for the notice period.

salsa-king

any update for us yet?

imlach

No, it doesn't make it pointless. What you are ignoring is that the minimum term of the contract, and the notice period of the contract, are two distinct things. A Short Assured Tenancy agreement is not a "fixed term", it is a MINIMUM of six months with a rolling 1 or 2 month contract after this period.

The contract is in place for a minimum of six months. To leave at the end of month six, notice has to be given at the end of month five if on a 1 month notice period (end of month four if on a 2 month notice period).

The minimum term of the contract means that the tenant cannot leave before the end of month six without some penalty. One cannot just "walk out" at the end of month six without notice. You will have to pay for month seven if you only give notice at the end of month six.

So, to sum up for the original poster, the situation is clear. To leave at the end of month six, you had to give 1 months notice at the end of month five, which you have not done. Therefore, your landlord is entirely right in asking for a months further rental payment.

Sorry

dsmith

Love to see the S'net post if it was the other way round...

My lease expires this week but ****** Landlord just turned up to collect the keys - I never told him I wanted to leave and assumed the tenancy would just keep rolling. Now I'm homeless.....

imlach

People could, of course, read, understand, and refer back to the contracts they sign, which often helps clarify these situations far quicker

salsa-king

the contract is there to protect the tennant as much as the landlord.

eg: it even says in a S-H-T-A a landlord cannot enter the property without 24hrs notice unless an emergency.



if they come out after 6month and not given notice the landlord is in his right to keep the months deposit that is being held for such situations.

StickyMicky

i have no clue about all this TBH

but the place i rent at the moment has me on a 6 month contract, when this was up i was asked whether or not i wanted to renew the contract or keep living here month in, month out.

i told them to renew the contract and was hit with a £60 "admin fee" to renew it i have no idea what this "month in, month out" thing entails TBH i assume its down to 1 months notice to leave with no 6 months "protection" ?

dsmith

Errrrr - kind of my point ?

PaulC72

If you want to leave you have to give 1 months notice, if the landlord want you to leave he has to give you 2 months notice, standard 6 month, them month by month agreement, it protects both landlord and tenant but gives the tenant the protection of the longer notice period.
What you need to think about is
a) how much is your rent
b) is the months rent {notice period} equel or similar to the deposit
c) if you leave now the deposit would be used to pay the rent for the month you don't live there
d) you have agreed on another property so you are no tied into another agreement so need to move quick
e) if you think you will be happier / safer in the new one forget about the other one your live / health is worth far more than £600 surely?
f) good luck I hope this helps, we are lucky that our tenant is family but still have all the relevant agreements in place for all our protection.

scoobynutta555

I thought that if you were a tenant leaving at the end of the minimum 6 months you had to give 2 months notice, then after the initial 6 months, only a month is required.

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

I think the issue of the notice period seems to have been answered, although there are a few ppl who seem to have a little confusion.

As a landlord, if I received a call from you asking to move out early without adequate notice, the conversation would go something along these lines (assuming you were nice )

- the point of you having to give a one months notice period is to allow me locate alternative tenants before you left the property
- the more notice I have that you are leaving, the less chance I have of a void period (where the property is empty)
- void periods are BAD. Its not that I am still paying for the running cost of the property without income, its that the property is vacant.
- vacant properties attract crime and squatters
- vacant properties are harder to let, as things like the grass does not get cut, or people think there is something wrong which is why nobody is in
- a lot of my insurance policies will become void when there are no occupants in the property. In some cases they become void with immediate effect, and I would have to appoint and pay someone to come into the house on a regular basis to ensure all is ok for the insurance to remain valid.

My answer to you would be that I could not officially allow your contact to terminate before the end of the notice period for those reasons. However, if we were to agree an unofficial leaving date I would try and get new tenants in for that date. If I failed to get new tenants by the unoffical date then I would just bear the cost of the void and let you on your way. I would hold onto the official end of contract date just to cover my back (without cost to you).

salsa-king

no, it also says that in the final month you should also let the landlord show 'new' tennants round if required

WR1Nikki

ive had to give 30 days notice even though my lease runs out on the 12th oct (end of 6 month term) most landlords and agencies need notice so they can get someone in the house when you leave.

i would go and see the citizens advice though as you are leaving because of the area not the house and see what they say, lets face it youre protecting your family and if i was your landlord i would let you go, but thats me.

salsa-king

I had a tenant last year.. rang me after 3month of a 6month term...

"my dads ill, I might have to leave to move back home. when does my contract end?"

I said, well you've just paid this months rent, so you're paid ill the end of the month and your tenancy finish in three months time.

She stayed that month and when the ret was due (i had a feeling she would do it) she cleared off.

I keep one months deposit + £100.
that was then taken so i didn't loose out on the following months rent. plus the extra £100 went towards cleaning the flat up!!!

managed to get someone in quite quick....so I was ok.

but tht tenant who moved in was nightmare... he was a druggie... and also did a midnight flit and left the place a right state... see pix!!!

i walked into this...

the lounge/bedroom

bathroom + toilet



kitchen


a full weekend of cleaning with bleach and flash... blood evrywhere from him shooting up etc.. you can guess what the toilet and bathroom were like!!!
Jo cleaned those!!! lol

Phil

tannan

If it was me and my rent was £600.00 and the deposit was £600.00 then i would leave and let them have the £600.00 as if you stay you are no better of you will not lose out at all and the landlord will not lose out.
Whats the problem with doing that as you cant just say my lease is up bye

salsa-king

thing is if you trash it before you leave... theres no deposit left to fix it