Fixed-term Agreement ends; can T go? Renewal/Notices?

[zerozero84]

I hope someone can help as I have extremely limited knowledge in this field.

I rent a room in a shared house and my current agreement, which is a 6 month renewable contract, ends on August 15th. Notice period is stated as one month either way.

I have now found somewhere else to live, and I am a bit worried about how to approach this with my landlord. If I inform her next week (i.e. 2 weeks before my contract ends) that I would like to move out, until when am I legally obliged to stay? Can she evict me on the 15th, or can she make me stay for a certain length of time after the agreement has ended?

I do not want to jeopardise my deposit in any way, so I would really like to make sure that I am aware of my legal position before I hand notice to the landlord.

Many thanks for your help, apologies for my ignorance here but I want to get it right........

[Snorkerz]

You can go without penalty on the last day of your fixed term - even if you don't give notice. Obviously, give as much notice as possible in case you ever need a reference.

[jeffrey]

Originally Posted by zerozero84

I have now found somewhere else to live, and I am a bit worried about how to approach this with my landlord. If I inform her next week (i.e. 2 weeks before my contract ends) that I would like to move out, until when am I legally obliged to stay? Can she evict me on the 15th, or can she make me stay for a certain length of time after the agreement has ended?

Does L live at this shared house, or did you mean only that you and other tenants share it with each other?

[zerozero84]

L's daughter lives in the house with me (acting as a representative of her parents - they live abroad). There are 4 tenants in the house altogether.

[jeffrey]

OK. L's daughter is then just one of the tenants (and she is not, for instance, a resident L- which status would have radically altered the legal position).

[zerozero84]

Ok, thanks. So what is the legal position with regards to them keeping my deposit to cover the rent as they feel I haven't given enough notice? I have informed L's daughter today that I am moving out on Sunday (which is the termination date of the agreement), and she has informed me that her parents intend to keep my deposit.

They are arguing that I must legally give one month's notice, even though from the 15th we are out of contract (by my understanding).

For clarification, below is the exact text from the Moving Out section of the agreement:

"8. Moving Out
a) All agreements are for a probationary period of 3 months initially, then a minimum 6 monthly renewable contract is assumed, with the Sharer needing to give one months notice from that point forward. Should the Sharer wish to leave before the probationary period expires, then one week notice is required but a forfeit of two weeks worth of rent will be deducted from the Deposit.

b) Notice of one month will apply once the 6 month renewable contract comes into being. Sharer to provide the Owner(s) a forwarding address when tenancy finishes, and to remove all rubbish and personal belongings including Sharer's own furniture and equipment from the Property before leaving."

I have also paid rent for all of August in advance, so I am expecting half of that back as well as the full deposit. It adds up to quite a lot of money so I am quite anxious to do things properly here! Part of the problem is that I cannot directly speak to the Ls, as they live abroad, but all communication is through their daughter.

Your help really is much appreciated here, thanks in advance.

[Snorkerz]

Did your tenancy agreement include an address in England/Wales where you can serve documents?

Do you know if your deposit was protected in a scheme?

[zerozero84]

No, the agreement doesn't give any address. There is also no mention of the deposit being part of a scheme, so I assume that it is not.

[Snorkerz]

Originally Posted by zerozero84

No, the agreement doesn't give any address.

A bit late now, but for future reference, you can not be made to pay rent without having an address in England and Wales where you can serve legal documents. As soon as such an address has been given, all the unpaid rent becomes due. Taking legal action without this may prove difficult, however, depending on the relationship you might try to elicit the information from the daughter by quoting her responsibilities (s1, 1985 Landlord & Tenant Act) and her Fathers Responsibilities (s47, 1987 Landlord & Tenant Act)

There is also no mention of the deposit being part of a scheme, so I assume that it is not.

The first thing to do is confirm if any of the 3 schemes do hold your deposit, but the landlord has failed to advise you. By completing this form an email will be sent to all 3 schemes - they will normally reply yes or no within 3 working days.

If you discover that your deposit is not protected, send this letter (keeping a copy and obtaining a free certificate of posting from the Post Office). It should be sent to the LANDLORD, but as you haven't got an address for him, send 2 letters - one addressed to the landlord and one addressed to the daughter - both at the daughters address (presumably your address, with a different room number).

letter before action

Dear Mr XXXXXXXX

RE: 123 High Street, Anytown, AT1 2AA

On the XXX of XXX 20XX I/We paid you a tenancy deposit of £XXX in respect of the above property.

The Housing Act 2004 introduced the concept of "Tenancy Deposit Protection" and obliges private landlords to protect/register all tenancy deposits with one of 3 approved schemes.

I/We have verified with all three schemes that the deposit you hold was NOT protected by any scheme. This is unlawful.

You must refund the outstanding balance of my/our deposit IN FULL within 14 days. If you fail to do so, I/we shall sue you for the balance due PLUS the statutory penalty for non-protection of deposits, which is three times the value of the deposit.

Yours sincerely

This letter makes reference to a penalty of 3x the value of the deposit. This is specified in the 2004 Act, but is not a simple claim, and you should take legal advice before contemplating it.

However, if you haven't been repaid within 14 days, you can commence a claim for the deposit only at http://moneyclaim.gov.uk. There are fees, but if you are on a low income, you may be able to reclaim them. HOWEVER, if you are entitled to have your court fees waived, moneyclaim will charge you and then expect you to claim it back. If you do it off-line and fill in a form N1 and an EX160 (both from http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/) and send them by mail, you won't have to pay any fees upfront. If you do have to pay, presuming you win your case, the landlord will be ordered to refund any fees you have paid.

The small claims process is quite simple and doesn't require the services of a solicitor. However, you might find it useful to obtain a book on the process - a number are available from your local library or Amazon.

If the landlord doesn't pay, you may have to take enforcement action which could include freezing his bank account or having a charge put on the rental property.

[zerozero84]

I am a tenant in a shared house and my 6 month renewable House Share Agreement is due to expire on Sunday. The front page of the Agreement stipulates the Period as beginning on 15/2/10 and ending on 15/8/10.

I very suddenly found somewhere new to live, and have agreed to move in on the 15/8/10. I was under the impression that as that was the end date of my agreement, I could terminate it then without penalty. Obviously I would have liked to give more notice, but that is not how it worked out.

Having informed my landlord of my intentions yesterday, she has given me a letter which states that as our contract is renewable, not fixed term, I have to give one month's notice and so she is deducting the rent up until 9/9 from my deposit.

What I don't understand is this - the main body of the agreement states that, after the 3 month probationary period, "a minimum 6 monthly renewable contract is assumed", but the front (signature) page of the agreement clearly gives a defined period with a start and end date - to me that is a fixed term!

Can anyone help me identify what type of agreement this is - renewable or fixed term?

More info if needed - there are 4 tenants in the house, one of whom is the landlord's daughter (they live abroad and she is their representative), and the deposit does not appear to be in a protection scheme (but don't know if this is required as it is a House Share Agreement and not an AST...)

Any help is much appreciated, thank you!