notice to LL, she is expecting 2 months we want to give 1 month

djkarl

Thank you very much Franklee, that will certainly help me and probably a few others!

tbs624

franklee wrote: »

Point her to Section 5 (3) (e) of the Housing Act 1988:..

franklee wrote: »

... except that any term which makes provision for determination by the landlord or the tenant shall not have effect while the tenancy remains an assured tenancy.

See post 40

djkarl wrote: »

Ok, she has delivered her letter, I’ve typed up the relevant sections below. She appears to be tying herself in knots in the first paragraph and surely the last sentence is utter rubbish?

I have today consulted with my solicitor who agrees that it is two months as per the contract which you signed last year. I am enclosing a copy of the page covering the termination of the contract, incase you do not have your contract to hand. 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 state very clearly the terms under which the contract may be terminated. 7.1 states that the landlord or tenant may terminate the tenancy by giving not less than two months written notice, such notice not to expire earlier than the end of the fixed term of the tenancy and 7.2 explains very clearly that if you want to leave the property at the end of the six month period, you must give notice on the forth month of tenancy.

If no such notice is given by either party then the contract continues under the same terms and conditions. The contract does not expire at the end of the six months if no notice is given.

My highlighting. Your LL and her "legal adviser" seem not to understand that a Fixed Term is called Fixed because the start and finish dates are.. erm ....Fixed. Whilst still with a Fixed Term any T is fully entitled to simply give up possession of the property at the expiry date of that Fixed Term. ( Courtesy dictates, however, that it is preferable to give the LL some prior warning and it does tend to speed up the deposit return).

Contrary to your LL's beliefs , *of course* the contract expires at the end of the Fixed Term, otherwise it wouldn't be a Fixed Term - it would be an open ended contract.

As previously discussed, what happens when the original contract expires (but the T remains in possession & no new AST has been signed) is that the tenancy continues as a statutory periodic tenancy under the provisions of the Housing Act 1988,( see Franklee's quote above) and not under "the contract" as such, which *has* expired. The same terms apply except that, whatever this pair may think, your notice period *is* now governed by the Act - see my previous comment on "determination".

Solicitors who do not specialise in LL & T law are unlikely to have a grip on these sorts of issues. If you really have hit a brick wall with them you perhaps need to talk to the tenancy relations officer at the local council, who can liaise with the LL on your behalf if necessary.

tbs624

barnaby-bear wrote: »

... you don't have to allow prospective tenants viewings so in doing so you are co-operating and helping her....

Agreed but unfortunately, this one looks like a quid pro quo. The LL doesn't have to provide a reference for the OP as a T but Homelet have asked for one: I guess she'd say that in so doing she is co-operating and helping the OP. That said, the min of 24 hours notice should be onbserved by the LL.
As soon as any reference has been completed djkarl may wish to reassess his own level of helpfulness with regard to viewings.;)

franklee

While I agree her solicitor may not have a grip on housing law of course the other variable is the question she asked them. In my experience solicitors (and accountants come to that) can be OK at answering the given question but the punter is not necessarily that good at asking the right question in the first place.

In my line (not any of the above mentioned I might add) we call that garbage in, garbage out and getting the customer to realise the correct issue can be a pain.

djkarl

I'm going to wait a week before sending her a letter, explaining Section 5 (3) (e) of the Housing Act 1988 and advise her that as alot of you have mentioned Fixed means Fixed.

I was hoping she was just deluded and had been poorly advised by her estate agent, but i think she's trying it on now and hoping we back down. Does she honestly belive that the terms of a fixed contract , still exist after the contract has ended!

silvercar

Does

she honestly belive that the terms of a fixed contract , still exist after the contract has ended!

Quite possibly! After all the other terms do apply, like the rent.

In fact a periodic tenancy means that the terms do continue (apart from the end date). What the arguement you are having hinges on, is that the term wasn't a vald term in the first place.

If her inexperienced solicitor tells her two months notice is required and you signed an agreement to give 2 months notice, then it is quite logical that she believes it.

Only when she gets proper advice that the 2 months notice from you was not a valid contract term in the first place will she understand that it is not enforceable.

djkarl

Sorry i meant notice terms carrying over after the contract ends, i'm getting a bit ahead of myself!

I'm going to allow viewings providing it doesnt get too out of hand, I can't see her getting to many if i'm honest. The house remained up for sale while we have been living here and there has been 5 viewings in 14 months. The price is considerably higher than other houses in the area (i think she bought the property at the peak of the market), the rent is also a good £100 higher than others in the area as well. We only moved in as it was ideal for our then jobs

tbs624

djkarl - in case you need a bit of light relief see Barnaby Bear misbehaving here

djkarl

Good stuff, i'm laughing along now
This woman is testing my nerve, i sent her a text this morning as Homelet emailed me saying they were having problems getting in touch with her.

her reply

[FONT=&quot]‘i have 2 viewings booked in on Thursday at 1.15 & 2.15. I will call homelet as soon as your rent is in tomorrow’[/FONT]

Fair enough about the rent (although we've never been late), but i have two viewings booked is a bit cheeky to say the least!

I might have kippers for breakfast on Thursday!

barnaby-bear

djkarl wrote: »

Good stuff, i'm laughing along now
This woman is testing my nerve, i sent her a text this morning as Homelet emailed me saying they were having problems getting in touch with her.

her reply

[FONT=&quot]‘i have 2 viewings booked in on Thursday at 1.15 & 2.15. I will call homelet as soon as your rent is in tomorrow’[/FONT]

Fair enough about the rent (although we've never been late), but i have two viewings booked is a bit cheeky to say the least!

I might have kippers for breakfast on Thursday!

http://www.all-about-the-home.co.uk/yale-saa5010-pir-shed-alarm-with-keypad-saa-5010---free-delivery-601-p.asp

Hmmm she wants viewings and you want reference........ sounds a fair exchange..... "I will let you know if the viewings are convenient when you have contacted Homelet"