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Article: Residential Tenancies
Bringing a tenancy or a license to
an end (termination of the tenancy or licence)
requires that certain procedures are followed, depending
upon the type of tenancy, for the action to be fully
legal:
- The serving of a notice to
quit by either landlord or tenant (or licensee)
- The serving of a notice of
intension to seek possession by the landlord
Residential tenancies are now in the main Assured
Shorthold Tenancies where there is an initial
fixed-term of say, 6 months or 12 months, followed
either by a new agreement for another fixed-term, or in
its absence a Statutory Periodic Tenancy.
A periodic tenancy automatically follows the
fixed-term if the parties do nothing (i.e. they do not
sign another agreement) and the tenancy will be on the
same basis as the original agreement, with all the same
clauses and conditions being operative.
The period of the tenancy will depend upon the rent
payment schedule: if the rent was paid monthly under the
original fixed term, this will become a monthly
periodic tenancy, or a weekly periodic tenancy
if this was the payment schedule.
Tenants should realise that the fixed-term
commitment is in fact a contract. They are committed
to stay the full term, or, if they leave early, to pay
the full fixed-term rent.
In some cases it may be possible to negotiate an
early release from a tenancy but this is a matter for
personal agreement between landlord and tenant.
Notice by Tenant
Where the tenancy has become a Statutory Periodic
Tenancy (where the fixed-term has ended and no new
agreement signed for another fixed-term) the tenant
must give the landlord notice if he wants to leave:
- The notice must be in writing
- It must be delivered at least 4 weeks
before the notice period ends or 1 month if rent
is paid monthly
- It must bring the tenancy to an end at the
end of a full rent period.
The notice period must end at the end of a tenancy
payment period: for example, if the rent payment
date is on the 20th of each month, the notice period
must end on the 20th of the month or the 19th to be on
the safe side.
The tenancy agreement cannot change these
basic rules, 4 weeks being the minimum notice period.
However, if the tenancy period is more than 4 weeks, for
example, one month, then the notice period is one
month.
[Note: these rules do not apply to Protected
Shorthold Tenancies - shortholds entered into after
28 November 1980 and before 15 January 1989 - these
tenancies had to be preceded by a notice - the
shorthold notice]
Tenants needing to terminate and leave early from a
fixed term tenancy may negotiate with their landlord
to be released from their contract, but this is a matter
for personal agreement between landlord and
tenant.
Landlords may or may not oblige by attempting to
re-let early if the tenant agrees to pay out of
pocket expenses - these should be agreed in advance.
Alternatively, the tenant himself may find an
alternative tenant, though the landlord will wish to
carry out her standard vetting or screening procedures
and again may well claim additional expenses.
Notice by Landlord
To end a shorthold tenancy the landlord must give
at least two months' notice under Section 21 of the
1988 Housing Act. For notices - see
Agreements & Forms
The notice cannot take effect for at least six months
or until the original agreed term has expired.
Where the tenancy has become a periodic one the
notice given must expire on the last day of a rent
period. For example, if a monthly periodic tenancy
rent day is the 20th of the month, the two month notice
period must end on the 19th of the month in question.
There is nothing to say you cannot give more than
two months' notice. Therefore a landlord could
service a two month Section 21 notice soon after the
granting of a six month term to take effect at the end
of that term.
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