Notice Period on Rented Properties

gooner71

Hi all, I've sold my family home with the intention of renting for as short a period as possible while I find somewhere to buy. We're moving towns and haven't found anywhere yet and have unsuccessfully viewed most places in our price range without finding anything we like.

There's a particular property we'd like to rent but the letting agent is quoting contract terms of 6 months with no early get out clause.

Is this unreasonable practice?

I'm worried that we might find somewhere to buy 3 or 4 months into the contract and would be stuck renewing for a further 6 months at the end of the contract.

Other places we've looked at have a 2 month notice period with a £160 termination fee. Is this more like it?

Thanks

custardy

gooner71 wrote: »

Hi all, I've sold my family home with the intention of renting for as short a period as possible while I find somewhere to buy. We're moving towns and haven't found anywhere yet and have unsuccessfully viewed most places in our price range without finding anything we like.

There's a particular property we'd like to rent but the letting agent is quoting contract terms of 6 months with no early get out clause.

Is this unreasonable practice?

I'm worried that we might find somewhere to buy 3 or 4 months into the contract and would be stuck renewing for a further 6 months at the end of the contract.

Other places we've looked at have a 2 month notice period with a £160 termination fee. Is this more like it?

Thanks

6 months is a standard let,does it not revert to a rolling 1 months notice after this?
its not unreasonable practice as you know about it before signing up

gavint_3

Hi,

Six months is fairly standard for the initial rent on an assured shorthold tennancy agreement, and then normally you need to give one month of notice to leave at or after the end of the initial period. Normally it's not possible to cancel before the end of the six months.

Of course you should check any agreement carefully before signing.

HTH.

Gavin

gooner71

They seem to be quoting 6 months termination period even after the initial 6 months.

I'll have to double check.

sarah_elton

Prior to 1997, six months was the legal minimum length for a shorthold tenancy - the standard form of tenancy used in the UK. Since then there is no minimum length, but by convention everyone still tends to offer an initial six month tenancy (some landlords insist on minimum 12 month contract).

Normally, you have a six month contract and you are free to leave at the end of it (though it's polite to inform the landlord/agency that you will leave if you're planning to!). Towards the end, some landlords will want you to sign for another six months, others will be happy for it to roll onto a periodic tenancy. If you stay in the property after the six months and nothing new is signed, legally it is deemed to have automatically become a periodic tenancy, under which you have to give one month's notice to leave (it has to tie in with a rental date, i.e. if you pay rent on the 25th your month's notice has to end on the 24th of a month; it's not just a month from whenever you fancy). However, landlords can ask for longer notice periods I guess - check the individual contract that you sign.

Further info:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/138289.pdf

Six months isn't that long - if you find somewhere to buy after 2-3 months it'll still take most of the remaining few months for the purchase to go through. If you don't want to be forced to sign for a second six months, check at the outset if the landlord will be happy with a periodic tenancy after the initial contract period is up.

00ec25

sarah_elton wrote: »

If you stay in the property after the six months and nothing new is signed, legally it is deemed to have automatically become a periodic tenancy, under which you have to give one month's notice to leave (it has to tie in with a rental date, i.e. if you pay rent on the 25th your month's notice has to end on the 24th of a month; it's not just a month from whenever you fancy). However, landlords can ask for longer notice periods I guess - check the individual contract that you sign.

No
1. the notice period is based on the rental period NOT the rent due date . Therefore if the original AST ran from 1st of month to 31st but rent was due on the 2nd , your notice under it is from the 31st, ie before the start of the next rental period. This is a very basic point and an important distinction which you must understand.

2 under a periodic tenancy by definition there will be no individual contract and the notice period required of a T is 1 month from the rental period date. This is common law and overrides anything the LL may seek to impose

gooner71

This is really helpful Sarah. Thanks very much

Simon

N79

sarah_elton wrote: »

Prior to 1997, six months was the legal minimum length for a shorthold tenancy - the standard form of tenancy used in the UK. Since then there is no minimum length, but by convention everyone still tends to offer an initial six month tenancy (some landlords insist on minimum 12 month contract).

Partially correct, however the 1996 act did add an additional restriction on the use of the non fault possession ground for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in that the 1996 act inserted S21 (5) which forbids a LL from using the S21 process before a tenancy is 6 months old. In order to provide a balance of rights and obligation between LLs and Ts most LL's refuse to use a fixed term of less than 6 months because a T could give notice in this period but a LL could not. By using a fixed period of 6 months or longer there is no such imbalance.

Please note that the AST is the standard tenancy only in English law and thus is not and can not be described as

the standard form of tenancy used in the UK

as the housing acts do not apply outside of areas subject to English law.

Normally, you have a six month contract and you are free to leave at the end of it (though it's polite to inform the landlord/agency that you will leave if you're planning to!). Towards the end, some landlords will want you to sign for another six months, others will be happy for it to roll onto a periodic tenancy. If you stay in the property after the six months and nothing new is signed, legally it is deemed to have automatically become a periodic tenancy, under which you have to give one month's notice to leave (it has to tie in with a rental date, i.e. if you pay rent on the 25th your month's notice has to end on the 24th of a month; it's not just a month from whenever you fancy). However, landlords can ask for longer notice periods I guess - check the individual contract that you sign.

No - a periodic tenancy always has a notice period equal to at least one tenancy period so for a monthly periodic tenancy the notice period is always one month regardless of whatever rubbish the LL may put in the tenancy agreement.

G_M

Once you've distinguished the erroneous information from the correct in the posts above....

There is nothing to stop a LL (in England) granting a 3 month AST, or any other period. However
a) the LL still cannot get possession for 6 months and
b) the rental income is often not worth the hastle of having to find yet another tenant 3 months later.

But there may be LLs willing to do this eg if they have had an empty property for a while and are desperate for a tenant or b) if they are planning to sell/move back in themselves etc in 3 months.

So try other agents. Ask specifically for what you want. And approach LLs direct ie via local paper etc

G_M

sarah_elton wrote: »

Prior to 1997, six months was the legal minimum length for a shorthold tenancy - the standard form of tenancy used in the UK. Since then there is no minimum length, but by convention everyone still tends to offer an initial six month tenancy (some landlords insist on minimum 12 month contract).

Nearly right. There are two reasons LLs rarely offer shorter than 6 months initially.
1) it simply become uneconomic. The costs, time and hastle involved in finding, vetting, and installing a new tenant mean LL want to do this as infequently as possible. Certainly 2ce a year is a preferred maximum for most.

2) whatever the contractual fixed term, a landlord can NEVER apply for possession on an AST earlier than 6 months. So although a 3 month contract is legal, and the tenant can then leave after 3 months, the reverse is not true. If the tenant does not leave after 3 months, the LL has to wait till the 6 month point to seek possession. So most LLs impose that same time-frame on the tenant through the contract.

real1314

G_M wrote: »

Nearly right. There are two reasons LLs rarely offer shorter than 6 months initially.
1) it simply become uneconomic. The costs, time and hastle involved in finding, vetting, and installing a new tenant mean LL want to do this as infequently as possible. Certainly 2ce a year is a preferred maximum for most.

2) whatever the contractual fixed term, a landlord can NEVER apply for possession on an AST earlier than 6 months. So although a 3 month contract is legal, and the tenant can then leave after 3 months, the reverse is not true. If the tenant does not leave after 3 months, the LL has to wait till the 6 month point to seek possession. So most LLs impose that same time-frame on the tenant through the contract.

it's an old thread, revived by someone who has posted the same comment on about 10 threads. probably spammer. :cool: