Months notice (rent)

mattED_2

Hi,

Ive jsut bought my first house, and as im renting at present I need to give 1months notice,

Now as I have only just had the mortgage offer, I was reluctant to hand my notice in before I had it.

If I put my notice in, does this mean I need to live in the house for a month? or just pay the rent for a month??

Jowo_2

What does your AST say about periods of unoccupation?

i.e. are you expected to inform the landlord of x weeks of non-occupation?

mattED_2

Its just says I must give 1 months notice, its not a LL who has gone through an EA, the houses are all part of an estate so the contract is typed out per house he rents out.

Arthritic_Toe

Watch out for the fact that a months notice usually means a month from the day when the rent is next due. i.e. this can mean almost 2 months. However, this is usually negotiable if a new tenant is found, as its in no ones interest to leave the place empty.

DVardysShadow

Wot Arthritic Toe says.

Plus, you shouldn't really give your notice until you have exchanged contracts - because firstly, the house may fall through and secondly once you give notice you are committed. If you are on reasonable terms with your Landlord, then now is the time to talk - because you do risk having a long overlap if it does not work out well - for example exchange of contract just after a rent day, with a short completion could leave you renting for 6 weeks after you move to your new house.

Some overlap is helpful for moving out - it is definitely better for cleaning out the old place to have your stuff moved out already.

tyllwyd

I agree with DVS, you need to be more clear about what you mean by 'bought'. If you've only just had the mortgage offer, then I assume you have not exchanged. Are you in a chain? If you are, there are lots of things that can delay things along the way, and it is probably optimistic to give your notice straightaway and assume you can definitely move in one month from today, unless you could, say, move in with family if things got delayed or the chain collapsed completely.

As long as you've paid the rent and if the contract doesn't specify, I don't see why you should need to actually live in the property if you don't want to - and certainly a smaller gap of, say, a fortnight to leave it empty would be perfectly reasonable, since you might be on holiday for that long.

mattED_2

Sorry its a no chain, the person currently living in the property is moving into rented accom (or with her mother) so the exchange date is asap, and I can move into parents for a few days if required,

TrickyDicky

still, dont give notice till you actually exchange. They may decide they dont want to move or something else comes up preventing exchange.