Are you able to hand in notice on rental property by email?

wolvesman89

Going on holiday in June and buying a house. Looks like it won't complete until mid to late July and to tie in with the months notice required would be whilst we're away. Are we able to hand in our notice by email? Or does it have to be signed by both tenants?

Osarkon

Email can be fine - I've done it myself.

Best check with the letting agent / landlord however.

19lottie82

The problem with this is, you have no proof (that will stand up in court anyway) that an email has been delivered.

best to keep yourself right and do it by the book. Can you not post date it, get it signed and leave it with a friend to post (recorded) at the time?

_Andy_

wolvesman89 wrote: »

Going on holiday in June and buying a house. Looks like it won't complete until mid to late July and to tie in with the months notice required would be whilst we're away. Are we able to hand in our notice by email? Or does it have to be signed by both tenants?

Have you asked your letting agency/landlord?

DRP

19lottie82 wrote: »

The problem with this is, you have no proof (that will stand up in court anyway) that an email has been delivered.

best to keep yourself right and do it by the book. Can you not post date it, get it signed and leave it with a friend to post (recorded) at the time?

oh-oh you've gone and done it now...

picklepick

Why don't you just send them a letter before you go?

You have to give a minimum month's notice, nothing to stop you giving more than that.

DRP

picklepick wrote: »

Why don't you just send them a letter before you go?

You have to give a minimum month's notice, nothing to stop you giving more than that.

i assume they're playing safe just in case exchange of contracts is delayed and they need to rent another month?

Werdnal

What method of serving notice is stipulated in your tenancy agreement?

Email notice is a contentious issue. Whilst some people consider it is valid, others warn against it as there is no proof that you sent it (ie no verified signature) and no proof that it arrived at the intended destination (it could disappear into cyberspace if the agent's system is down or your ISP has a glitch).

Much better a typed or hand written formal letter, posted first class with a free proof of posting from the counter. In a legal sense, first class normal post is deemed served (ie arrives at the receipient), 2 working days after sending. DO NOT send recorded - if no one is in to sign it, it goes back to the sorting office and if not collected, will be returned to sender in 14 days - never send anything time senstiive like notices via a "signed for" delivery!

Are you 100% sure that your completion on the new property will tie up with your notice, or have you a contingency if it doesn't, ie relative to stay with? Many is the tenant here who have given notice with the genuine intention to have their new property ready to move into, only to find some minor last minute hiccup delays completion and they are homeless for 2 weeks or more! Storage costs for your furniture and extra accommodation for you may outweigh the extra month's rent ...

Werdnal

19lottie82 wrote: »

best to keep yourself right and do it by the book. Can you not post date it, get it signed and leave it with a friend to post (recorded) at the time?

Lottie, you have been a member here for some time now, and I am sure you have been told before that this is not correct. Please try to get it right before you advise others. See my reply above for reasons.

princeofpounds

You can give notice in a smoke signal if you like. The key thing is to be able to demonstrate that you did so and that it it likely to have been received. An email does not do that. An email with a reply is ok.

Write out a notice, get a friend or relative to post it if required as Werdnal suggests.

rpc

It is risky.

While I don't believe they are binding on tenancy notices, Civil Procedure Rules only permit service by email if the recipient has explicitly indicated that this is acceptable (Practice Direction 6A). You could take that as a reasonable model. Service by post is binding regardless, provided it was received.

It is entirely possible that, if the LA/LL wanted to be stubborn, that a court would find you did not serve notice at all.

Can you get your conveyancing solicitor to do it for you?