Advice for completion date and how to give rental notice to LL

Yorkie1

When I did this last year, I completed on the house purchase a week or so before the expiry of my rental notice. That gave me time to move and clean up behind me, before doing the final check-out.

I notice that you say that the contract started on the 16th of the month. Assuming that to be correct, you need to give notice by the 15th to expire by the following 15th; the 16th is the start of the next tenancy period.

So, in your example, you could aim to complete on say 8th December, with your notice expiring on 15th Dec. As others have said, don't give notice until you have exchanged.

mickym

Excellent.

Thank you once again.

Makes me happy as gives the solicitors almost 2 weeks to get contracts signed before i have to give notice.

Id like to think they will be sorted by then!

Thanks

mickym

Yeah we may give ourselves a week overlap to help with things.

My only concern was that would mean i would have to have 2 contents insurances running on 2 properties or run the risk of having it only on one property.

Yorkie1

You will have buildings insurance in force on the place you're buying from the date of exchange. I took out a new policy for the house I bought, then cancelled my old policy when I moved out. It wasn't the most economical way to do it, but the policies at each property (rented and bought) were totally different so it seemed most logical to do it that way.

mickym

so you had 2 contents insurances running at the same time for the short overlap period?

Yorkie1

Yes, in practice. My contents insurance as a tenant wasn't really suitable to be transferred across to the house purchase, and it didn't cost much more to take out combined buildings / contents insurance from exchange on the new house than to get buildings from exchange and transfer the contents across at completion. I was using two separate companies so it was all straightforward.

firsttimetom

We are in the same position as you. We have handed in our notice and will have about 3 weeks overlap.

It will allow us to get some essential work done (2 - 3 days worth), decorate our new place, move our new stuff in, clean the old house. I also have 2 weeks holiday due at work, so it should be a reasonably stress free move.

I hadn't thought of the double insurance - buildings insurance is in place, and we still have contents insurance on our rental property. They are with 2 different companies. I will cancel this on the date we move out. I assume this is legal? The cost is not an issue as it is only £10 a month anyway.

And stress to your solicitors that you have to hand your notice in on the 15th, as it should keep them on the case. Ours seemed to step up a couple of gears once I kept harping on about exchanging in time.

Yorkie1

It's perfectly legal to insure the different risks you have, even if they are at separate properties.

G_M

Of course, irresepective of how many properties you are in 'possession' of (as tenant or owner) you'll only have one set of possessions (contents). If you have a week overlap, I guess there'll be a day mid week when you move your stuff across, so you insure your contents at the rental until that move-date, and insure your contents at the new place from that date!