Moving out of rented flat - does my notice have to be a full paid month?

househead

Hi,

I would like some advice on the following situation.... I have recently been offered a new job in a new location and as such I shall be moving in a months time. I currently rent an apartment which is via a letting agency. The contract was initially 6months, however I have been there a year. My contract is a month-to-month rolling contract. I called the letting agency today to give my months notice. I currently pay my rent on the 25th of the month, in advance, for the month following from that date. As I gave notice today, I was expecting on the 25th of March, to pay pro-rata until the 15th April.

My letting agency says this is not possible. I quote...

Many thanks for your email, you will need to give 1 months notice from your rent due date, or you will have to pay the pro-rata difference. Is this Ok?

and...

Periodic tenancies are governed by law in whatever the period the rent is paid, that’s the notice that is required so for tenants who pay monthly they have a monthly periodic tenancy. As you started your rent due date on the 25th you need to give 1 months full notice from this date

If you give notice today the earliest you can leave and will be charged from will be the 24th April

is this fair and right and most importantly lawful? Surely a months notice is a months notice and I shouldn't have to pay for days I won't be there. I've never encountered this before, I have always paid pro-rata for the remaining days.

Thanks for help in advance. I really need these extra funds for my relocation costs and to cover loss of income due to job change. I'm really worried this is going to also make things difficult in getting my £500 bond back off them too

moromir

Someone will be along shortly to put it in much better words than I can - but yes, they are correct.

Your month's notice must run from a rent due date. Therefore provided you serve notice (in writing by a recorded method!) by 25th March 2010, you can terminate your tenancy on 24th April 2010.

"I shouldn't have to pay for days I won't be there", the fact that you want to vacate in the middle of a rental period is not the Landlord's concern.

Why don't you write directly to the Landlord c/o the Agents and say what you said in your post 'I really need these extra funds for my relocation costs and to cover loss of income due to job change.', if you ask nicely, your Landlord MIGHT allow you to pay pro-rata but do understand he is under no obligation to do so.

But yes, unless the above is agreed, do expect to lose part of your bond if you only pay 21 days rent (March 25th - April 15th) and leave the rest of the rental period unpaid.

Fire_Fox

You have to serve notice to quit in writing, by telephone or e-mail is not an acceptable manner of terminating the legally binding contract you signed. Your one month notice does indeed need to coincide with a rental period, the landlord would have to serve you with two months notice again coinciding with a rental period. Note also that you must ensure that your notice is received by the 25th of the month, so that means hand delivering or recorded delivery with a proof of signature or normal post ASAP and hope for the best.

I don't really understand why you think your letting agents adhering to the law have any bearing on whether you will get your damage deposit back? Is it lodged in one of the three schemes? Do you have a dual signed inventory detailing the condition of the property when you took occupation? You are at liberty to physically move out whenever you like and you can put in your notice to quit letter that you are surrendering the property and keys back to the agency on the 15th, requesting a checkout on that day so that you can be present.

That does not mean you do not have to pay rent until the end of your contract, but you may be able to get your bond back more promptly. If you do surrender the property the letting agency may find tenants sooner than the 24th which means you would be due a small refund. If you do not surrender the property they are not allowed to enter the flat until the 24th.

For future reference the 15th to the 15th is not one month it is one month and one day, just as Sunday to Sunday is eight days, Sunday to Saturday one week. If you stay in a property one day into the new rental period another FULL month of rent is due so it is important to avoid this mistake.

Jowo_2

The Shelter website gives excellent information on how to end a periodic tenancy which explains why the notice period has to expire with the rental period and not any point of the month exactly after it has been issued. By the sounds of it, you have misunderstood your obligation.

"If your agreement is periodic (ie rolling from week to week or month to month), you normally have to give at least four weeks' notice to end it, or a calendar month if you have a monthly tenancy....It is always best to give notice in writing and ensure that the notice ends on the first or last day of the period of a tenancy. For example, if your tenancy is monthly and started on the fifth day of the month, the notice you give the landlord should end on the fourth or the fifth."

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/renting_and_leasehold/ending_a_tenancy_or_licence/ending_a_periodic_agreement

G_M

Someone will be along shortly to put it in much better words than I can - but yes, they are correct.

I could not put it in better words. They are correct.

N79

moromir wrote: »

Someone will be along shortly to put it in much better words than I can - but yes, they are correct.

I could not have put this part any better.

moromir wrote: »

Your month's notice must run from a rent due date.

This part, however, is wrong. Notice must co-incide with the tenancy period which has nothing to do with the rent due date (although often the two periods are the same).

tbs624

N79 wrote: »

..This part, however, is wrong. Notice must co-incide with the tenancy period which has nothing to do with the rent due date (although often the two periods are the same).

OP, what this means is that the rental periods under your statutory periodic agreement run on from the date on which your original Fixed Term expired, which for some tenancies does not line up with the Rent Due dates.

Thus, if your Fixed Term ended on 24th of the month, then clearly your rental period is 25th to 24th of each month and what the LA/LL is saying holds. Your only option is to ask them to re-advertise the property promptly, be extremely helpful with viewings, and see if they can get someone new in earlier than 25th April so that you can be released early from the contract..