Landlord extending my notice period? (and taking my deposit)

cg1986

I know there are plenty of threads like this but here goes (I'm new to this) :

I live in shared house with AST agreement for my room.
My current tenancy started on the 14th April 2012 for 6 months with rent being paid in advance on the 1st of the month, this has now passed so I assume I am in a periodic tenancy agreement and only need to give 1 months notice to exit ( On signing the tenancy the landlord told me I only had to give one months notice as well).

The issue now arises as I have given my one months notice on the 12th November, just two days short of 7 months, and my landlord is saying I must give him my notice at the end of the month so my deposit can be used as the last months rent, i.e I now have to stay till the end of December, making it 7 weeks notice...(+ it's not a great time to move house) and the deposit will not be returned as it does say in my tenancy that the deposit will be used as the last months rent.

I fully expected to pay him for the additional 2 weeks in december and then recieve my deposit back in full or recieve almost half of my deposit back as over payment but he says this is not the case. Does anyone have any advice?

I am sure my deposit is not in a tenancy deposit scheme either, does this make any difference?

thelem

Notice must be given at the end of the rent period - so in your case by the 13th November, to leave by the 13th December.

I'm a bit confused by the deposit being used as the final month's rent though - what would he do if you damaged the property in that final month. Is the deposit even protected? If he insists on taking the deposit as your final month's rent then ask for a refund of the nov/dec rent that you mistakenly sent him.

G_M

If you served notice (ie date received by landlord) on 12th November it will cover the full Tenancy Period 14th Nov - 13 Dec.

If you posted it on 12th 1st class, it will be deemed served on 14th Nov (2 working days), so will cover the full Tenancy Period 14th Dec - 13th Jan 2013.

Full details in this post here.

If your deposit is not in a scheme you can sue him for up to 3 times the deposit.

Does the tenancy agreement say " the deposit will be used as the last months rent." or " the deposit may be used as the last months rent."?

If "will" then clearly the 'deposit' is NOT a deposit - it is rent.

If 'may', then it is a deposit which may be used to cover rent arrears IF you don't pay the last months rent.

Yorkie1

Just to emphasise what other have said: the date on which you pay your rent is irrelevant. The dates which matter are the tenancy period. As your fixed term ended on 13 Oct 2012, your tenancy periods run from 14th - 13th.

Fire_Fox

Your deposit should have been lodged in one of the three schemes, write and ask your landlord which it is lodged in. Deposit is not normally used as your final months rent, it is retained for damage or returned in full. You pay your final months rent as per your tenancy agreement or you could be deemed to be in arrears.
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/notice_to_quit.htm
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_schemes/?a=502196

Have you ever paid two weeks rent before, perhaps at the start? If not you will not pay two weeks rent at the end, the last rent you pay will be a full month on 1 November to cover the period 14 November to 13 December.

G_M

Fire_Fox wrote: »

... Deposit is not normally used as your final months rent, it is retained for damage or returned in full. ....

Just to re-iterate, it could be rent.

We have seen increasing numbers of posts here where LLs are demanding the first and last month's rent up-front.

This is clearly intended as a means to avoid registering a deposit.

Whether payment at the start of a tenancy for the final month's rent constitutes a deposit, requiring registration, has been debated at length.

My own view is that if it is clearly described as rent then

1) it is not a deposit so does not need to be registered
2) it cannot be in any way used to cover damage - so the LL is exposed to a risk, but that is his choice
3) it is not really 'the final months rent'. It actually constitutes rent being paid two months in advance (instead of the more normal one month in advance)

However I accept there is an arguement that it is in fact a deposit and should be registered.

Fire_Fox

G_M wrote: »

Just to re-iterate, it could be rent.

We have seen increasing numbers of posts here where LLs are demanding the first and last month's rent up-front.

This is clearly intended as a means to avoid registering a deposit.

Whether payment at the start of a tenancy for the final month's rent constitutes a deposit, requiring registration, has been debated at length.

My own view is that if it is clearly described as rent then

1) it is not a deposit so does not need to be registered
2) it cannot be in any way used to cover damage - so the LL is exposed to a risk, but that is his choice
3) it is not really 'the final months rent'. It actually constitutes rent being paid two months in advance (instead of the more normal one month in advance)

However I accept there is an arguement that it is in fact a deposit and should be registered.

Good point. But the landlord would not reasonably be able to describe it as a deposit at any point surely?

cg1986

Thank you all for your response.

The AST clearly states that the deposit will be used as the last months rent. I am assuming this means that it is actually rent and I have overpaid by almost 2 weeks. Does anyone know the best way to tackle this? My landlord owes me two weeks rent but is saying I cant have it and I have to stay in till the end of december? Is this something I need to take to the small claims court? I have no idea!

Fire_Fox

If it is described as a deposit IMO it should have been lodged with one of the three schemes. Where does two weeks come into it if you paid a full month at a time in advance? Please tell us if this is what you have paid to date, pretending a full months rent is £500. If not please edit so it is correct.

1 April £1000 covering 14 April to 13 May (leaving £500 deposit/ last months rent)
1 May £500 covering 14 May to 13 June
1 June £500 covering 14 June to 13 July
1 July £500 covering 14 July to 13 August
1 August £500 covering 14 August to 13 September
1 September £500 covering 14 September to 13 October
1 October £500 covering 14 October to 13 November
1 November £500 covering 14 November to 13 December?

G_M

cg1986 wrote: »

Thank you all for your response.

The AST clearly states that the deposit will be used as the last months rent. I am assuming this means that it is actually rent and I have overpaid by almost 2 weeks. Does anyone know the best way to tackle this? My landlord owes me two weeks rent but is saying I cant have it and I have to stay in till the end of december? Is this something I need to take to the small claims court? I have no idea!

If you are owed over-paid rent and the LL refuses to return it, you will have to use the Small Claims Court.

As for "have to stay in till the end of december? " you have not yet clarified your Notice - see my post number 3 above.

cg1986

The notice period is one month, the payments are as follows:

14th April £250 to cover till May 1st,
Then £500 each month on the 1st in advance.

Hopefully this highlights my predicament, as my term clearly states that it runs from the 14th but I am paying from the 1st for the month in advance.

In essense I paid £500 for Nov on the 1st covering 1st - 30th,
The deposit, my landlord states, now covers me from Dec 1st to 31st
I Handed in my notice on the 12th, one month in advance, so would want to vacate in line with my notice period on the 14th (when my term started) and be repaid my deposit for the excess i.e. 14th Dec - 31st Dec.

Complicated I know but thank you all for your assisstance.