Moving out of rented property

Loobie1

Hi, I'm new

We took out a 6 months AST in September 2010. To say we have not settled is an understatement and so we have been looking at other properties.
We have found a new house and passed the checks ok, but they need us to move in within 28 days of paying the deposit which would be by the middle of February if we pay this weekend.

The thing is our current tenancy doesn't run out till the middle of March so we would be moving out a month early. We are going to continue our end of the Tenancy Agreement and pay the last month's rent in February as we would normally and maintain the house until the day the keys are to be surrendered, so in effect, apart from not living in the house, we will still be carrying out our end of the bargain.

Does anyone know if this is ok to do this?

tbs624

There will usually be a clause in your tenancy agreement about not leaving the property empty for, say 21 days, without notifying the LL: this is normally part of the LL's insurer's stipulations.

Loobie1

It says this:

Not leave the property vacant unattended or unoccupied for a period of more than 28 consecutive days without first giving notice to the Landlord or Landlord's Agent of the intention to do so.

So, if we inform him of the plan, does that mean it's ok?

BitterAndTwisted

If you inform your landlord as soon as possible about your prospective move they might be willing for you to hand the property over early and then any responsibility for the place is ended in your side.

moromir

I would be checking your agreement for clauses relating to maintaining the property in a tenant like manner.

Consider - if we have another extreme cold snap like we've had recently, and the heating trips out, consequently a pipe bursts and it isn't discovered for several days because you haven't been at the property... be prepared for the Landlord persuing you for the damage caused, unlikely but costly in the event it does happen.