Withdrawing notice

HotCauldron

Hi,
I am currently renting a flat on a periodic tenancy (originally a 12 month AST).

I gave the statutory 1 month notice a couple of weeks ago, and it expires on Dec 28th (which is the last day of the rental period).

I thought I had another flat ready to move into on Dec 20th, but it has now fallen through (I stupidly gave notice before signing the agreement on the new place).

I'm looking at finding somewhere else quickly, and hopefully will do. If not, I will try to speak to my landlord to work something out, but I wonder if anybody here could please advise on the legal situation.

If I give notice, am I then able to retract it and, if so, what are the implications?

As I said, I am hoping to work this out amicably, but I just wonder where I stand legally.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

Jowo_2

Legally, a tenant may stay in a property and if they don't want to leave of their own volition, a landlord must get a possession order from the courts.
This applies even if they issue notice to the landlord and then change their mind.

So ultimately, if your landlord doesn't give you consent to stay on and you opt to stay there, he has to serve you the required period of notice and then take you to court if you still don't leave to regain possession, and then enforce this with bailiff's if you then ignore the date to leave it issued with the possession order. Did your landlord issue an S21 to you in the past?

Of course, the landlord can then give you a poor reference as there's not many landlords who would like to give a tenancy to someone who won't leave when they say they will and then will contest any subsequent notice issued by their landlord, particularly if they've arranged for a new tenant to stay in the property and must now renege on their contract with them.

Your best bet is to negotiate with the landlord, perhaps they have no other tenant lined up and will appreciate another month or two's rent. Do you have a good relationship with them?

Planner

You cant revoke your notice, if it is correct and the landlord has agreed to it, without your landlords permission.

If he doesnt agree, then he can treat you as a tresspasser and you will be liable for double your normal daily rent on a daily basis until you leave or your LL gets a court order (this is known as 'holding over'). I am not saying he will do this but he does have the option to do this is he chooses to do so.

With this in mind, your best approach would be to simply get the landlords agreement (he may well agree - who wants to move on 28th December?).