contract when renting

happytravells

was wondering if anyone can give me some advice...... i am a landlady who manages my property my self, though i used an agent to find me a tenant, and agent prepared the contract between me and my tenant, we are 4 months in to a 6 month contract.
however things have been a little rocky with me and my partner, and i do not want to be tied to another 6 month contract, i would rather a monthly/ 2 monthly term, i have spoken to letting agent about preparing this for a fee, but they say they will no longer be involved as they do not manage, so my question is how do i go about having a legal contract in case i need to give my tenant notice. thanks for reading... ps would let contract lapse, but have heard of people having trouble getting their house back, if done verbally only

BitterAndTwisted

You're a landlady and you don't know how to go about gaining possession of your property once the fixed-term ends? You don't need "a legal contract in case I need to give my tenant notice". You need to issue your tenant with a Section 21 Notice and be prepared to go to court to have it enforced if the tenant is unwilling to leave.

barnaby-bear

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You're a landlady and you don't know how to go about gaining possession of your property once the fixed-term ends? You don't need "a legal contract in case I need to give my tenant notice". You need to issue your tenant with a Section 21 Notice and be prepared to go to court to have it enforced if the tenant is unwilling to leave.

most boards seem to being hit by a lot of suspect newbie posts in the last few hours....

Werdnal

The contract you have with the tenant does not end at the 6 month point, only the fixed term expires. If tenant does not leave by midnight on the last day of the fixed term, a Statutory Periodic Tenancy automatically arises, and is recognised by law. All the existing terms and conditions of your existing tenancy still stand, except you need give tenant 2 month's notice you require the property back, and tenant only need give you one month notice that they are leaving.

However, the problems arise when the landlord (as I suspect applies in your case) knows little or nothing about how to issue correct notice, which will stand up in court if/when you need to apply for a possession order to make the tenant leave. Nothing in the original contract or anything else the agent draws up for you now will guarantee you getting the property back, if you issue incorrect notice, do not serve it to the tenant correctly, or have not protected the tenant's deposit and given them the prescribed information from the deposit scheme you used. You either learn about your obligations as a LL quickly, or you employ an agent to fully manage the let for you and handle any notices you need to issue (paying the going rate for that service).

Some bedtime reading for you:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=41160642&postcount=12

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=52421475&postcount=6

Make sure you are complying with everything you need to as a landlord before you worry about ending the tenancy, as tenants can come back with all sorts of counter claims and you could be fined for non-protection of deposit up to 6 years after they leave!

happytravells

its a genuine question.... from a genuine new poster....

G_M

The 2nd link in Werdnal's post will answer your question.

happytravells

thank you werdnal and gm, just the responsies i hoped for.
very helpful, thanks again.

tim123456789

barnaby-bear wrote: »

most boards seem to being hit by a lot of suspect newbie posts in the last few hours....

I don't see what is at all suspect about a newbie LL not having the faintest idea what to do.

i would suggest that it's the absolute norm.

tim

Werdnal

tim123456789 wrote: »

I don't see what is at all suspect about a newbie LL not having the faintest idea what to do.

i would suggest that it's the absolute norm.

tim

Agreed we all have to start somewhere, but the time to start your research (as with all things) is before you get tenants, before you even think about letting a property and before you get to the point of panicking over something you have done wrong, don't understand or a summonds for something you have failed to do correctly lands on the doormat!

G_M

tim123456789 wrote: »

I don't see what is at all suspect about a newbie LL not having the faintest idea what to do.

i would suggest that it's the absolute norm.

tim

Barnaby-bear did not say 'newbie LL'. Indeed Happytravells is NOT a newbie LL.

Barnaby-bear said newbie post ie new to the forum.

tim123456789

G_M wrote: »

Barnaby-bear did not say 'newbie LL'. Indeed Happytravells is NOT a newbie LL.

Barnaby-bear said newbie post ie new to the forum.

I'm well aware of that.

but a post by a newbie LL to a rental forum is almost certainly going to be a newbie to the forum, aren't they?

tim