Is rent prorated at the end of tenancy?

ItsyBitsySpider

Hello All,

I would highly appreciate if someone could give me the correct legal perspective about my situation. My tenancy started, through a letting agent, a couple of years ago on 23rd of the month and the standing order for the rent goes on 15th of every month. I guess in the first month of tenancy the rent was prorated. For the last whole year, I have been on a rolling on contract with a 2 months notice period.

My question is, if I give the landlard notice about vacating their property on 30th of February, what will be the date till which I would be liable for rent. Will I be liable for rent upto 30th of April and the rent for the end of April would be prorated from 15th to 30th of April?

The landlord is of the opinion that the notice period in this case, would start on 23rd of March as I gave him the notice after 23rd of Feb, therefore I would be liable for rent till 23rd of May.

Can someone please advice me what is the correct legal position in this matter.

Many Thanks

theartfullodger

You are both wrong. Rent payment date us irrelevant, monthly period is which runs 23rd to 22nd. And you only need to give at least 1 month not 2, expiring on 22nd.

Many landlords think clauses about 2 months notice carry over to periodic tenancies. They are (almost) always wrong but probably won't budge until made to by a court.

Cheers!

Guest101

+ 1 to artful. The notice is 99'.9% 1 month in law. Therefore your next period is February 22, until March 22nd. Send notice by the 20th if posting first class

ItsyBitsySpider

Thanks everyone for your replies. This really confuses me now. At the end of the tenancy period i.e. first year, a new contract for two years was arranged by the letting agent, explicitly stating that a minimum of two months notice will be required to end the tenancy.

Does it mean I am required to give one month notice ??

MSaxp

This termination clause does not apply after the fixed term of the tenancy has ended. When did the new 2 year extension start and end?

ItsyBitsySpider

MSaxp wrote: »

This termination clause does not apply after the fixed term of the tenancy has ended. When did the new 2 year extension start and end?

I highly appreciate your reply. The new 2 year extension started in Feb. 2013.

MSaxp

that would imply that you cannot end it (without the landlord's permission) until Feb 2015, unless there is a break clause in the tenancy agreement.

In which case the '2 month' clause you mention, is useful. Can you please tell us exactly what the clause says? Does it say you can terminate 'anytime' or 'within the fixed term'?

franklee

Can you post the text of the break clause so we can see if it asks for two months notice to any date or a specific date etc.

ItsyBitsySpider

Thanks everyone for their time. Please find below the excerpt from the tenancy agreement.

Term of Tenancy

The landlord lets to the tenant the premises for a period of 24 months. The tenancy shall start on 20/02/2013 and shall end on and include the 19/02/2015 and thereafter months to month, but subject to the following break clause.

This agreement is an extension to the agreement signed by the parties which commenced 20/03/2013 to 19/03/2011 and continued on 20/03/2011 on a periodic basis.

Break Clause
The tenant agrees that the landlord has the right to terminate the tenancy after the first two months by giving the tenant not less than two months notice in writing to end the agreement, so that such notice expires at the end of the relevant period , being the day before the rent normally falls due.

The landlord agrees that the tenant has the right to terminate the tenancy after the first two months by giving the landlord not less than two months notice in writing to end the agreement, so that such notice expires at the end of the relevant period , being the day before the rent normally falls due.

The Rent
... The first payment shall be made on 20/02/2013.


Looks like the landlord is right

jaylee3

ItsyBitsySpider wrote: »

Hello All,

I would highly appreciate if someone could give me the correct legal perspective about my situation. My tenancy started, through a letting agent, a couple of years ago on 23rd of the month and the standing order for the rent goes on 15th of every month. I guess in the first month of tenancy the rent was prorated. For the last whole year, I have been on a rolling on contract with a 2 months notice period.

My question is, if I give the landlard notice about vacating their property on 30th of February, what will be the date till which I would be liable for rent. Will I be liable for rent upto 30th of April and the rent for the end of April would be prorated from 15th to 30th of April?

The landlord is of the opinion that the notice period in this case, would start on 23rd of March as I gave him the notice after 23rd of Feb, therefore I would be liable for rent till 23rd of May.

Can someone please advice me what is the correct legal position in this matter.

Many Thanks

What theartfullodger said on post #2 ^^^ If you're on a periodic tenancy, you only have to pay for a whole month AFTER you give a month's notice. Regardless of what date the tenancy started.

Good luck giving notice from the 30th of February though

MSaxp

Based on what you've posted, it sounds like a contractual periodic tenancy and not a statutory one. While the termination clause is not amazing, my initial interpretation is that you have to give notice before the 20th of February, if you want to terminate the tenancy on the 20th of April. I'm not sure where the 30th came from