Letting agent demanding more rent upon termination

tonynz

Hi there,

Rent is usually due on the 8th of each month.

Agency gave notice on the 25th August for termination on the 24th October.

Fine, we will move out but now they are demanding in the September rent the usual rent of Sept and in additional the pro-rated rent for October too.

Is this legal? I don't usually have this much money lying around as I put all my extra money in my ISA.

I can't find anything in the lease that says we must do this but is this usual practise?


Thanks a lot!



To answer the questions:

Our rental period is 8th - 7th so my rent on the 8th of Sept will take us up to the 7th Oct.

Our tenancy wasn't fixed but the landlord has now decided to sell the house so she served notice (two months notice as per our contract)

Also it says "Such notice must expire at the end of a relevant period, being the day before Rent normally falls due"
- I am assuming that means that we are legally allowed to have the place up to the 7th?

BitterAndTwisted

Depends on whether you are moving out on the 24th of October or sooner. If you stay till the 24th of October it's only fair that you pay the rent until then but it seems to me that it's due one the 8th of October and not before. If your rent day is the 8th of the month why did they serve notice on the 25th?

G_M

1) What are your rental periods (NOTE - this does NOT mean when do you pay rent)? Look at your original tenancy agreement (I assume the original Fixed Term has expired?) and tell us what date it ended? So your periodic tenancy runs monthly from the day after that.
eg. 6 month fixed term from 3/1/11 to 2/7/11. So your periodic tenancy runs from 3rd of month to 2nd. (You may pay rent on different days but that is irrelevant).
So you should have been give 2 full months Notice ending on this date. IS YOUR RENTAL PERIOD 25TH TO 24TH?

OK now consider rent due. You pay on the 8th, but what period does this rent cover? 8th to 7th? or 25th to 24th? or something else?

Without knowing this it is impossible to tell you how much to pay on the 8th September/October, but you should only be paying rent up till the 24th October, assuming this is when you are moving out and the tenancy will end.

Emmzi

no, rent is due on rent day and not before

chris_m

tonynz wrote: »

Agency gave notice on the 25th August for termination on the 24th October.

Fine, we will move out but now they are demanding in the September rent the usual rent of Sept and in additional the pro-rated rent for October too.

They can "demand" what they like, but that doesn't mean they'll get it. After all, provided the correct rent has been paid by the time you leave, what can they do about it?

Give you notice? Nope, they've already done that.

With-hold the deposit? That won't wash either. If you pay the pro-rata for October on October 8th, it won't even be late payment so they can't use that as an argument.

DVardysShadow

When do you actually want to move? If your rental period is 8th month <n> to 7th month <n+1>, the notice is invalid - the earliest it can be for is 7th November.

As for what rent you pay when, if there is a prorata'd month, you pay the prorata'd rent on the normal rent day for that month. Letting Agents often tell people to do things but they are far from universally right.

angrypirate

tonynz wrote: »

Hi there,

Rent is usually due on the 8th of each month.

Agency gave notice on the 25th August for termination on the 24th October.

Fine, we will move out but now they are demanding in the September rent the usual rent of Sept and in additional the pro-rated rent for October too.

Is this legal? I don't usually have this much money lying around as I put all my extra money in my ISA.

I can't find anything in the lease that says we must do this but is this usual practise?


Thanks a lot!



To answer the questions:

Our rental period is 8th - 7th so my rent on the 8th of Sept will take us up to the 7th Oct.

Our tenancy wasn't fixed but the landlord has now decided to sell the house so she served notice (two months notice as per our contract)

Also it says "Such notice must expire at the end of a relevant period, being the day before Rent normally falls due"
- I am assuming that means that we are legally allowed to have the place up to the 7th?

They have served incorrect notice. The 2 month notice they served should have been 2 months from the start of the next period. This means a correct section 21 served to you by the 8th September would be for you to vacate on the 7th November.

If it takes them until the 9th of September to serve you with the correct section 21 then its the 7th December you will need to vacate. If they dont figure this out until the end of October, then 2 complete periods will be 7th November through to the 7th January.

Continue paying your rent on the usual day. You shouldnt need to pro rata anything for incomplete months unless you and the landlord mutually agree to terminate the tenancy part way through a period (a period being one complete month). You certainly dont have to pay your october rent a month early

may_fair

Assuming OP has been served with a s.21 notice then, regardless of its validity, it will not end the tenancy at notice expiry, so unless OP serves notice to quit (or agrees a surrender with LL as of 24th October) he could find himself liable for further rent in lieu of notice.