please help! monthly contract problem

andysr

Just over 2 years ago i signed a contract for a flat, it was originally for 4 months and renewed monthly after that . It was rented through a small agency that actively manages flats belonging to different companies. The way it was done (after the original contract) was I went in , paid the rent for next month and they gave me a receipt, there wasn't a contract . I'd usually tell them if I needed it for another month but sometimes I'd let them know around the 10th or so, we had a verbal agreement that if i was to leave I should let them know 2 weeks before the end of the month.

Now, I have to move at the end the month but I wasn't sure about it a few weeks ago so I only told them there is a strong chance I'll be moving. On the 6th this month they said (through an email) that I needed to tell them within a couple of days if I was going to stay another month but they didn't email me again after that so I assumed they were giving me more time to decide.


Last week I called and told them that I was going to leave and now they claim it's too late and I have to pay for another month. I feel like I've been tricked into this, I thought I would get a final warning saying either the flat will be on the market from tomorrow if I don't tell them otherwise or that if i don't tell them anything by a certain date they would see it as an extension of the contract. They also say they don't remember that I could give them 2 weeks notice , I'm not sure if they are telling the truth since it was something we agreed upon 2 years ago. I feel like I've been betrayed since they were always very flriendly to me and flexible with the rental agreement. Also, I had rented from them before and have paid them almost £40k in rent through the years and to get backstabbed like this while i'm going through the worst time of my life is just....

What are my rights here, what can I do and what can they do? Thanks you very much for helping.

BitterAndTwisted

Depending on the precise dates on your original tenancy agreement, they could be right in insisting that you haven't given them enough notice. Notice should always be given in writing, so even if you did give what you thought was adequate notice over the phone, they could insist on receiving it in writing.

I'm not sure you have been shafted but I do think you have been over-optimistic in not ensuring you knew what was expected of you before the fact.

may_fair

andysr wrote: »

Just over 2 years ago i signed a contract for a flat, it was originally for 4 months and renewed monthly after that .

Was this in England/Wales?
Did you rent as an individual (e.g. Mr Andysr) or as a company (e.g. Andysr Ltd)?
What date did the fixed term commence (dd/mm/yy)?
Fixed term was four months, but did the contract specify an 'end' date?
Was rent payable weekly/monthly/other?
Was any other contract or anything else signed after the initial four month contract?

andysr

may_fair wrote: »

Was this in England/Wales?
Did you rent as an individual (e.g. Mr Andysr) or as a company (e.g. Andysr Ltd)?
What date did the fixed term commence (dd/mm/yy)?
Fixed term was four months, but did the contract specify an 'end' date?
Was rent payable weekly/monthly/other?
Was any other contract or anything else signed after the initial four month contract?

It was in England.
Rented as individual.
30/04/2008
I can't find the contract but it was for 4 months only, i don't remember if it specified any end date other than that.
Rent was payable monthly.
I didn't sign anything after the original one, the receipts he gave me every month were signed and stamped by them alone.


Unfortunately i can't seem to find the original contract, should I just go to the agency and ask for a copy? Will they give it to me? Is it a legal right? I'm also worried they would give me an altered copy that would give them an advantage, but I doubt they'd go that far since it would be fraud.

G_M

You have a monthly periodic tenancy. You have to give them a months notice (in writing) to end with a rental period. So if your original Fixed Term in 2008 ended on, say, the 5th of the month, your rental periods run from 6th to 5th. You can give notice any time but there must be full 6th-5th period so if you give notice on, say 26th June your notice will expire on 5th August.

may_fair

andysr wrote: »

It was in England.
Rented as individual.
30/04/2008
I can't find the contract but it was for 4 months only, i don't remember if it specified any end date other than that.
Rent was payable monthly.
I didn't sign anything after the original one, the receipts he gave me every month were signed and stamped by them alone.

You almost certainly had a fixed term assured shorthold tenancy (AST) granted in 2008.

When the fixed term of an AST contract expires, and the T remains in occupation, and no renewal contract is agreed, then a statutory periodic AST automatically arises. The terms of the expired contract carry through, except for any provisions relating to notice.

In a periodic AST, T must give LL at least one month's notice, also expiring at the end of a tenancy period. The periods begin the day after the fixed term expired, and their length is based on the frequency with which rent is payable.

In your case, if the 4 month fixed term began on 30th April 2008, then it would have expired on 29th August 2008 (unless the contract specified an incorrect 'end' date, as contracts sometimes do). Therefore, the tenancy periods began on 30th August and run 30th - 29th of the month. If you give notice between now and 29th June (or back on 6th June), then the earliest your notice could expire would be 29th July (and you're liable for rent up to that date).

gordonbennet

May-fair is spot on. And a very clear explanation too.

It sounds as though you had a friendly informal agreement to give the agent less notice than is required by law and there seems to have been a misunderstanding. You thought you'd given notice, they though you were going to confirm it. Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do about it as they have the law on their side.

Where money is concerned it's usually better to keep things a little more formal and put everything it in writing - including a reduced notice period and the notice itself.

thegirlintheattic

andysr wrote: »

we had a verbal agreement that if i was to leave I should let them know 2 weeks before the end of the month.

Now, I have to move at the end the month but I wasn't sure about it a few weeks ago so I only told them there is a strong chance I'll be moving. On the 6th this month they said (through an email) that I needed to tell them within a couple of days if I was going to stay another month but they didn't email me again after that so I assumed they were giving me more time to decide.

So you had an agreement to provide two weeks notice. Two weeks ago you did not give notice but indicated you may be moving soon. They then contacted you to ask you to confirm your move and you decided to ignore them.

Why should they ask more than once for you to confirm your move?

What they had agreed with you was that they would waive their legal right to a months notice in favour of two weeks. I'm not surprised that they decided to follow the law and ask for a months notice now, especially as you ignored their request.