Months rent in advance

Ste88_2

Hi everyone,

Would appreciate some advice / help on this issue as I'm sick of getting told one side from the council / housing then another from Satan (the estate agents who we're dealing with)

So far we have been treat like idiots, he's wangled an extra months worth out of us because we had gave our notice a few hours later than the 13th of the month when it's due apparently.

He's now trying to bump us off on the months rent in advance as it would appear, does anyone know the terms regarding a months rent in advance? And do we get it back?

Thanks in advance,
Stephen

princeofpounds

What on earth are you talking about? You need to explain it better.

But if it answers your question, if you pay one month's rent in advance then there will be no rent payment in the final month as there was a rent payment before the first month.

Jowo_2

I don't understand your question so you'll need to provide extra info on the circumstances (fixed or periodic tenancy, date you pay rent, date of tenancy, date you served notice, etc).

Rent is generally paid in advance and a tenant serving their notice late *could* end up legitimately having to pay an extra period's rent.

So IF a tenant handed in their notice late to end the tenancy, they could be obligated to pay another month's rent and this would be expected at the start of that period, not the end (i.e. in arrears).

Ste88_2

Very sorry, had just quickly typed it up.

To explain;

We had moved in the property on the 14/07/2008, this was on a assured-6 month tenancy. We had paid a total of £1,050 to move in (£425 Deposit, £425 Month rent in advance, £200 Admin- fee)

Last month we had given our notice on the 14th (which is our rent day) to which we had been told is fine (by the council / housing services) ... however our Landlord (estate agent) is being highly unreasonable as the 13th was a Sunday so there was no way he would of got it until the 14th anyway ...

To make things easier due to him not backing down at all regarding the notice situation we have accepted to have the property for this extra month (paid for tomorrow) and are due to hand over the keys on the 13th of November 2009 once and for-all.

However when I question him about the months rent in advance we had paid he's basically saying we're talking rubbish about getting it back.

Can anyone shine some light on this? It's much appreciated as it really is causing an awful amount of stress.

Thanks again,
Stephen

princeofpounds

Your LL is right, you need to give a month's notice from before the start of the rental period, so it should have been received on the 13th at the latest (and given that is not a business day, probably the Friday unless you actually took the trouble to visit him personally!).

The only exception is if the tenancy is ending its fixed term. At that point you can leave with no notice whatsoever as long as you get out before you tick over into a new rental period, although that's a bit rude.

You need to count the number of full monthly periods you will inhabit the house for (from the 14th to the 13th) by the time you have left. You then need to count up the number of rent payments you have made (including the one before you moved in). The two should match.

If you have overpaid, you will need to sue your LL via the small claims court to retrieve it.

casper_g

The way I understand it as a tenant, you would usually expect to pay rent in advance. The rent for the first month would be paid at the start of the tenancy, before taking up the tenancy, and the rent for the last month would be due by the start of the last month of the tenancy. You wouldn't expect the first month's rent to be returned: that was the rent for the first month! Likewise you don't pay a month's rent at the end of the tenancy, as you paid it at the start of the tenancy's last month.

adg1

Ste88 wrote: »

Would appreciate some advice / help on this issue as I'm sick of getting told one side from the council / housing

I may have taken the wrong end of the stick, but if you are claiming from the HB then they pay in arrears and you should get the months rent you paid in advance as an overpayment by them at the end of the tenancy, as they pay you on your last day.

If you don't claim, then the advice above stands!

ailsajayne29

if i read that right, you moved in on 14th july and paid a full months rent before moving in, which covered you between 14th july and 14th augs then you have paid a full months rent of the 14th of aug which covered your rent until 14th sept and so on and are moving out on the 13th nov? So the rent you would pay today covers you until that point but there is no in advance as such. They just mean you are paying at the start of each months rental rather than at the end.... So unfortunately you wont get anything back but you wont be expected to pay anything on the 13th nov?? You should still get your deposit back!

If you paid them the deposit and rent before taking the keys then paid them another full months rent on the 14th july (when u moved in) then they will owe you money....

Its very confusing renting from agencies because they cant just explain things properly... the only reason i know is beacuse i had the same thing after renting my first flat!! esp as we technically paid two months rent ( ie deposit and rent up front)

Soot2006

Is he charging you anything for leaving early?

PasturesNew

Ste88 wrote: »

in ... 14/07/2009, ... 6 month. ... paid ... £1,050 ... (£425 Deposit, £425 Month rent in advance, £200 Admin- fee)

All normal so far.

Ste88 wrote: »

... notice ... 14th

Firstly, you are leaving before the end of the 6 months. You were legally obliged to stay/pay the full 6 months. On 14/10 you were only half way through. So this raises one set of issues.

Ste88 wrote: »

... months rent in advance ... we're talking rubbish about getting it back.

The month's rent in advance was for 14/07-14/08. You have so far paid:

Month in advance: 14/07 - 13/08
On 14th Aug: 14/08-13/09
On 14 Sep: 14/09 -13/10
On 14 Oct: 14/10 - 13/11

By the end of tomorrow you will have paid:
Deposit: £425 - possibly refundable, depending on the state you leave the property in

Month in Advance: this was to pay for your first month's rent, from 14/07 to 13/08, as I listed above.

6 month ASTs and leaving early
When you sign one of these you are agreeing to rent the property for a period of 6 months. The landlord is agreeing to let you rent it for a period of 6 months.

If you choose to leave early, then you are liable to pay all the rent for the full 6 months, unless the landlord agrees to let you off the remaining months.

The landlord might agree that you can leave early, but you would still be liable for the rent until he can find another tenant, or until the end of the 6 months whichever is soonest. Plus, you can be liable for his additional fees he has to pay to replace you.

If you had stayed the full 6 months and moved out on 13th January (6 months from 14/07) then you would not have needed to have given any notice, but it would have been polite to have done so.

Ste88_2

Thanks for the advice I've had a quick skim through what has been said, will have a proper read through once I've returned home.

Yes it was on HB
And for some people mentioning ending and leaving early, I may have stated the dates wrong or mis-lead but we have had the property over a year (moved in 14/07/2008)

Thanks,
Stephen