Tenant Handing in Notice......Advice Please

carpediemspirit

Hi All,

I would be grateful for some guidance. My tenant moved into my flat back in February and today he e-mailed me to say he wants to give me 2 months notice to move out as her circumstances have changed and he is moving to a new area.

I reviewed the tenancy agreement and noticed this clause:

"The tenants may, at their option, end and terminate the tenancy after the first six months by notifying the Landlord in writing in which event the Agreement shall cease and terminate two clear calendar months after the date of delivery of such Notice. Such termination shall not affect any rights or liabilities, which may have arisen under any of the clauses of this Agreement"

As the tenant moved in at the beginning of February, I am of the view that 6 months have not elapsed and therefore he is not allowed to terminate the contract till August. Have I interpreted this correctly ? What are my options ?

My tenant has been great and I don't want to cause animosity, I just want to know from you expert landlords where I stand

Many Thanks

[Deleted User]

The way your clause is written it seems that it could be interpreted as allowing for the tenancy to be terminated at any point beyond 6 months, providing notice does not terminate the tenancy which means if notice is provided now the tenancy won't be terminated until September (depending on the specific tenancy start date) which is after 6 months. Therefore providing notice now would be in line with that clause, it's a poorly written clause really, it should explicitly state when the notice can be served and when the tenancy can end.

Although regardless of clauses if you don't want to cause animosity you should endeavour to allow the tenancy to end if the tenant is providing reasonable notice. Does a compelling reason exist that prevents you from allowing the tenancy to end? If you try to keep the tenancy going you will (potentially) put your tenant in a questionable financial situation, which may cause them to enter rent arrears, which will be costly and time consuming to recover for you.

fawd1

carpediemspirit wrote: »

Hi All,

I would be grateful for some guidance. My tenant moved into my flat back in February and today he e-mailed me to say he wants to give me 2 months notice to move out as her circumstances have changed and he is moving to a new area.

I reviewed the tenancy agreement and noticed this clause:

"The tenants may, at their option, end and terminate the tenancy after the first six months by notifying the Landlord in writing in which event the Agreement shall cease and terminate two clear calendar months after the date of delivery of such Notice. Such termination shall not affect any rights or liabilities, which may have arisen under any of the clauses of this Agreement"

As the tenant moved in at the beginning of February, I am of the view that 6 months have not elapsed and therefore he is not allowed to terminate the contract till August. Have I interpreted this correctly ? What are my options ?

My tenant has been great and I don't want to cause animosity, I just want to know from you expert landlords where I stand

Many Thanks

I am not a landlord, but have been a tenant in this situation. You are absolutely right, they cannot terminate their contract before six months have elapsed. However, upon giving you 2 months notice, by the time they want to move out, the six months will have passed. In simpler terms, their contract states they have to live there for six months, no longer. They have simply given you notice that they will be leaving at the end of the six months. As they have to give 2 months notice, this will come when they have only been tenants for four months. The contract does not say that they have to give notice after six months, simply that they have the option to leave after six months.

caringa

As your tenant moved in at the beginning of February, his six months ends at the end of July. If he has given you two months notice, then that will take him until the end of August which is seven months after he moved in.

Therefore he is abiding by the Assured Tenancy Agreement in my view.

G_M

What date did the tenancy start?
What is the Term (length) of the tenancy?
And/or what is the End Date?

For more info, read:

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

ps - the clause is meaningless since it contravenes law (read the link above!)

Smith_007

carpediemspirit wrote: »

he wants to give me 2 months notice to move out as her circumstances have changed

Regardless....
If your tenants circumstances have changed, is it practical to hold them to the remainder of the contract if they might have dificulty paying?

Hold them to the legal contract if you wish, but it might be best to negotiate "early surrender" letting the tenants leave early with good grace and on friendly terms.

If you let the tenants leave early, you can use this to help negotiate convenient viewing times for new tenants. Perhaps also, negotiate a sum from the tenants deposit to pay for your unexpected void and for advertising a new tenant. Just keep it fair and friendly !

carpediemspirit

Tenancy started 1st February
Length is 12 months
End Date is 1st February 2014

G_M wrote: »

What date did the tenancy start?
What is the Term (length) of the tenancy?
And/or what is the End Date?

For more info, read:

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

ps - the clause is meaningless since it contravenes law (read the link above!)

rpc

So it is a 12 month fixed term with a break clause?

If they gave you notice now, the two calendar months takes you to the end of August and the break clause is satisfied. It provides for the tenancy to end after six months, so as long as the notice expires on or after 1 August then the tenant is following the break clause.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I have used the six month break clause myself (moved to escape terrible neighbours). They have correctly given you two months notice of their intention to leave after six months.

Yorkie1

carpediemspirit wrote: »

Tenancy started 1st February
Length is 12 months
End Date is 1st February 2014

Although not directly relevant to the point of this thread, the expiry date is 31 January 2014 and not 1 Feb if the duration is simply stated to be 12 months (as would be usual).

The six month period would similarly end on 31 July 2013.