Notice to give when not in the contract...

[swk2000]

Hey Everyone,

Hope you can help.

I moved into a house share on the 12th of October 2011. In my contract it states that I was contracted for 3 Months, until 12th of January. After that it was a rolling contract.

I want to move out before the end of this Months rent, so within 2 days. And it is understandable that the Landlord is unhappy with such short notice. However, I have read and reread the Contract I signed and at no point does it state how much notice I had to give. The only section remotely close states:
"The Landlord may bring the tenancy to an end at any time before the expiry of the Term by giving to the Tenant not less than 1 months written notice stating that the Landlord requires possession of the Premises"
Which, to me, is in regards to the landlord giving notice to the Tenant, not the other way round.

On: Direct.gov under DG_189123

It states: "Your tenancy agreement should say how much notice you need to give your landlord before you leave the property. If there is nothing in the tenancy agreement about ending your tenancy, you may not have to give any notice."

However, my Landlord is now stating he will keep half of my deposit due to short notice...

In all honesty, I don't care about the money, but its a matter of principle. Who is right in this matter? Can anyone advise?

[Snorkerz]

12th of October 2011 until 12th of January 2012 is 3 months and 1 day.

You could have left without any notice on 12th January but you now have a statutory periodic tenancy as created by section 5 of the 1988 Housing Act. Common law dictates you must give at least one months notice and it must expire on the last day of a tenancy period. Your tenancy periods run from the 13th of the month to the 12th of the following month.

Therefore, if you give notice tommorrow (11th) you will be liable for rent until the 12th of May.

Sadly there is not enough room on the average tenancy contract to include every bit of law that applies.

[Paul_f]

OP is partially right in that if he hasn't been told how to serve notice on the landlord concerning a periodic tenancy then indeed the tenant may not have to serve any notice. The reason being is a tenant is not expected to know the law regarding the service of notices, so must be advised at the appropriate time, and in this case it would be as soon as a SPT came into force.

This should not be confused about any provision within the AST which, if it states what a tenant must do if it becomes a statutory periodic tenancy as that can be ignored.

[jjlandlord]

OP is partially right in that if he hasn't been told how to serve notice on the landlord concerning a periodic tenancy then indeed the tenant may not have to serve any notice. The reason being is a tenant is not expected to know the law regarding the service of notices, so must be advised at the appropriate time, and in this case it would be as soon as a SPT came into force.

Tenants are not advised 99% of the time... So if I follow close to all tenants could just walk away from their periodic tenancy.

[westminster]

OP is partially right in that if he hasn't been told how to serve notice on the landlord concerning a periodic tenancy then indeed the tenant may not have to serve any notice. The reason being is a tenant is not expected to know the law regarding the service of notices, so must be advised at the appropriate time, and in this case it would be as soon as a SPT came into force.

Oh, pur-leease. What planet are you on, where ignorance of the law is a defence?

The landlord has ZERO OBLIGATION to advise a tenant of their obligation to serve notice in a periodic tenancy and/or the requirements for that notice.

[westminster]

I moved into a house share on the 12th of October 2011. In my contract it states that I was contracted for 3 Months, until 12th of January. After that it was a rolling contract.

I want to move out before the end of this Months rent, so within 2 days. And it is understandable that the Landlord is unhappy with such short notice. However, I have read and reread the Contract I signed and at no point does it state how much notice I had to give.

It wouldn't matter if it did say anything about notice, because provisions for notice in a fixed term contract do not carry through into a statutory periodic tenancy. See s.5(3)(e) Housing Act 1988.

In a statutory periodic tenancy, assuming rent is payable monthly, the tenant must give LL at least a month's notice, also expiring at the end of a tenancy period.

Your LL is right. You are wrong.

[westminster]

On: Direct.gov under DG_189123

It states: "Your tenancy agreement should say how much notice you need to give your landlord before you leave the property. If there is nothing in the tenancy agreement about ending your tenancy, you may not have to give any notice."

I presume quoting from this page http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndC...cies/DG_189123

However, Direct.gov webpages aren't wholly reliable. E.g.

You can end a fixed-term tenancy by giving your landlord written notice up to two months before the tenancy ends. Your tenancy will then finish at the end of the fixed-term.

This advice is incorrect. A tenant doesn't have to give any notice to end the tenancy at fixed term expiry; if he moves out on or before fixed term expiry, the tenancy will end on the last day of the fixed term.

You can end a periodic tenancy (a rolling tenancy when a set term ends) by giving notice at the end of a rent period (at the end of a week or month). You can find details on how to end your tenancy in your tenancy agreement.

Also incorrect. A tenant's notice to quit must expire at the end of a tenancy period, not a rental period. Referring to the expired fixed term contract will not help, as any provisions for notice contained within it do not carry through into a statutory periodic AST.

[swk2000]

Thanks everyone for all your help

I didn't know whether to trust him as its never seemed the most legit of places to live. The tenancy agreement was like 2 pages long and it was cash in hand each month.

I'll speak to him tomorrow and let him keep the money that he wants to keep and hopefully it'll all be sorted.

Cheers again!

[mariner]

"OP is partially right in that if he hasn't been told how to serve notice on the landlord..,. "
OP was selectively quoting Agreement clause on Notice periods. The clause for how/where to serve Notice on LL is usually elsewhere in document and certainly does not requirement to spell out all permutations of legal Notice requirements for diff Tenancies.
Paul_f, I note the latter half of your signature appears to breach Req 6 of the forum rules, but since you are only offering to train LAs I don't suppose much further damage can be inflicted, Ofsted and ARLA may disagree.

Did OP really expect that 2 days notice was sufficient? Most Ts would expect to be required to give at least a full rent period and then moan about getting rebate for unused days.

[Snorkerz]

Paul_f, I note the latter half of your signature appears to breach Req 6 of the forum rules, but since you are only offering to train LAs I don't suppose much further damage can be inflicted, Ofsted and ARLA may disagree.

Mariner - 'Topic Experts' are allowed to advertise in their signatures.