ceiling collapsed, advice needed!

BitterAndTwisted

You can either leave now, on the last day of the fixed-term or any day after that. The problem with leaving after the last day of the fixed-term is that you are obliged to pay another month's rent, regardless of which day you actually leave. Unless your landlord agrees for you to pay the rent pro-rata.

makoto

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You can either leave now, on the last day of the fixed-term or any day after that. The problem with leaving after the last day of the fixed-term is that you are obliged to pay another month's rent, regardless of which day you actually leave. Unless your landlord agrees for you to pay the rent pro-rata.

Hey BitteAndTwisted, I am a little confused here. Of course I am aiming to get out of there asap, but are you suggesting that regardless of how many days we stay after the end of term and up to the end of the notice, we will have to pay the whole rent anyway?

angelsmomma

makoto wrote: »

Sorry if this was confusing, as explained in the previous post we have been served notice to leave, I will make this more clear.

Our fixed-term agreement ends in about a month. The LL served a notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act to gain possession of the premises and said they no longer wish to extend , which comes with a two month notice from the date served.

That means the fixed term will come to an end first and after that, in about a month (from the fixed term end) we have to leave at the specified date of the notice.

Assuming we are still in the property, what is the correct approach to paying the rent for the remainder of the notice period (which spans beyond the fixed term) do we still have to pay in advance?

What do you mean by the highlighted. I am no expert but I thought a section 21 notice has to be 2 whole months from a rent day. Perhaps someone else can clarify.

Also if you stay even one day over the end date you are obliged to pay a whole months rent unless your landlord agrees to pro-rata as BitterAndTwisted said.

makoto

angelsmomma wrote: »

What do you mean by the highlighted. I am no expert but I thought a section 21 notice has to be 2 whole months from a rent day. Perhaps someone else can clarify.

Also if you stay even one day over the end date you are obliged to pay a whole months rent unless your landlord agrees to pro-rata as BitterAndTwisted said.

Thanks everyone, that all makes sense now.

angelsmomma, it is quite simple, the tenancy ends but the notice period spans a month longer because it starts two months before the end of the tenancy term.

It is a difficult situation as the LL has given notice at the worst possible time, workwise for us but also because we are heading towards a festive season where things can get really quiet with property.

We have to do our best to leave and perhaps negotiate a pro-rata payment just in case we cannot make it.

G_M

makoto wrote: »

Sorry if this was confusing, as explained in the previous post we have been served notice to leave, I will make this more clear. Except that you haven't - much

Our fixed-term agreement ends in about a month. Date? The LL served a notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act to gain possession of the premises and said they no longer wish to extend , which comes with a two month notice from the date served. Date served? Date expires?

That means the fixed term will come to an end first and after that, in about a month (from the fixed term end) we have to leave at the specified date of the notice.

Assuming we are still in the property, what is the correct approach to paying the rent for the remainder of the notice period (which spans beyond the fixed term) do we still have to pay in advance?

I thought my last post ws pretty straight forward....

Tenancy Term: what date start? How long? What date end?

Notice: Given by who? Served how/when? What period? To expire when?

Rent: last payment when? Covering what dates?

However, my best guess is:

1) If you wish, you can leave ("in about a month") on or before the day the Fixed Term expires. You do not have to give notice to do this (although it is good manners to do so), but you must pay rent up to the end of the Fixed Term even if you leave before.

2) You can stay beyond the Fixed Term. If you stay just one day longer, you create a Periodic Tenancy. You then have 3 choices:
a) give Notice yourself. You need to give a month's notice including a full rental period, which in practice means if you do this the day after your Fixed Term expires it would be almost 2 months.

b) you rely on the S21 Notice you've received, and leave on/before the date that expires ("about a month after your Fixed Term"). You need to pay rent up to that date even if you move out earlier

c) you reach agreement with the LL, and get it confirmed in writing, to leave on another date (any date that is mutiually agreed), and leave on/before that date. Again you need to pay rent up to that date even if you move out earlier.

Oh, and yes, rent still has to be paid in advance assuming that that is what the tenancy says (99% of tenancies)

makoto

G_M wrote: »

I thought my last post ws pretty straight forward....

I thought my explanation was pretty straightforward with time lengths outlined. You can tell that even without precise dates the three outcomes you described are not affected by that.

Anyway, thanks for all the useful feedback, we now have all the answers we need.

G_M

makoto wrote: »

I thought my explanation was pretty straightforward with time lengths outlined. You can tell that even without precise dates the three outcomes you described are not affected by that.

Anyway, thanks for all the useful feedback, we now have all the answers we need.

Fair enough - and hence my willingness to provide 'best guess'.

But you'd be amazed how often posters here give generalisations of the situation, then reveal another pertinant fact some posts later, or provide a detail that contradicts the generalisation.

So it is safer to try to establish all the key facts, dates and sequence of events before offering unconditional advice that might later prove to be erroneous.

Glad to have been able to help!

makoto

G_M wrote: »

Fair enough - and hence my willingness to provide 'best guess'.

But you'd be amazed how often posters here give generalisations of the situation, then reveal another pertinant fact some posts later, or provide a detail that contradicts the generalisation.

So it is safer to try to establish all the key facts, dates and sequence of events before offering unconditional advice that might later prove to be erroneous.

Glad to have been able to help!

You have a valid point, the legal is down to the details.

Thanks again

makoto

makoto wrote: »

You have a valid point, the legal is down to the details.

Thanks again

Speaking of which, as this is ongoing, the LL begun serving letters containing "Without Prejudice" on top. To me that looks like they are expecting legal action or just covering their......

They handed us a letter proposing this month to be rent free because of the dehumidifier running on our electricity, including "Without Prejudice" on top. After giving it some thought we decided to accept this. However we responded with our own letter on top which does not include "Without Prejudice".

Then then they dropped a notice for 24-hour access and added "Without Prejudice" on it. I understand the first one, but what is the point of adding "Without Prejudice" on a notice for access?

Should I be contacting a solicitor?

BitterAndTwisted

No, you should be expending your efforts in finding alternative accommodation. The request for access is not connected to the offer of any rent-free period or has an effect on your tenancy, hence its omission.