End of 12 month assured shorthold tenancy - notice needed?

monkeybradders

Hi hoping for some clarification

Our assured short hold tenancy ends on 1st October. Are we compelled to advise our letting agent/landlord that we are not renewing? My understanding is that we don't have to tell them and can simply leave at the end of the tenancy.

The reason i ask is that our letting agent has messed us about sooo many times over the years in various ways we're feeling naughty and want to give one back in the eye, we also don't want them to do viewings whilst we are out.

Thank you

moromir

monkeybradders wrote:

The reason i ask is that our letting agent has messed us about sooo many times over the years in various ways we're feeling naughty and want to give one back in the eye, we also don't want them to do viewings whilst we are out.

Legal position: You do not need to give notice, just hand back the keys on the last day.

But honestly?

Stop acting like a child.

Not giving notice isn't going to give you the last laugh.

They'll get that when they go over that house with a fine toothcomb once you've wound them up and force you in to a drawn out deposit dispute.

Give notice, clean the house really well, get your deposit back, move on.

Emmylou_2

As long as you've left (completely) and handed the keys back by the last day of your fixed term, then no, strictly speaking, you don't need to give notice. It is polite to do so, but there is no obligation.

(This may be a "teaching grandma to suck eggs" moment but remember that if your AST started on (eg) 1 October 2012, then it ends on 30 September 2013. If you stay until even 00.01 on 1 October 2013, you've entered into a Statutory Periodic Tenancy and the earliest any notice you give can expire is 30 November 2013 and you would be liable for rent and council tax up to that point)

G_M

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?)

BitterAndTwisted

I would advise you in the strongest terms possible to avoid trying to get your own back on the agent. It would probably be the landlord who suffers and they may not be party to any aggro you may have suffered at their hands.

It all might back-fire, in the way Moromir has described and that might be a risk too far. Depends on how much value you place on your time, energy and sanity.

Give them at least one month's written notice, ask for them to contact you with a date and time for the hand-over and tell them that you do not consent to viewings during the last month of your tenancy if that is what you wish.

I suspect the agent will be in touch to enquire about your intentions quite soon in any case.