Notice To Quit - No Signed Lease

enigmo

Well, current plan (assuming all goes well with the agent tomorrow) is to be gone by June 28th. I'll avoid the stress of confrontation for my wife and little 'un, and then if he decides to be nasty over the deposit, I will be taking him to court, but it'll keep the family at a distance from the matter.
BitterAndTwisted: He has given us a letter telling us to leave by July 1st, so I'm assuming temporarily that he is forgoing rent for the month of July. I will be writing to him this week, once I have a solid date confirmed by the agent and moving company, and will ask for confirmation that the rent I pay in the next week is the last he gets from us. I have considered withholding, but as I do intend to take him to court, I want to make sure I am whiter than white when it comes to due process. While I don't exactly relish the time or expense, given that he's gobby enough when stood on my front door step I would love to give him the chance to sink his own boat in front of a magistrate! There's also the fact that if I were to withhold, I would fully expect him to be around here pretty quick and probably try and take the door down! While I would be quite prepared to deal with that, I wouldn't want to put the family through it.
I think given the situation, history, and temperament of this guy, moving when we can gets us out of here. Even though staying would be completely legal, it might not actually be safe and certainly wouldn't be pleasant. After the fact, if he sticks to form and refuses to cooperate, then I can go after him. And even if he does return the deposit, the issues we've had over the last two years mean I'd probably go after him anyway for not having a cert. But in that case I don't know what legal reason I would have for doing so or what I'd get out of it, other than teaching him a lesson. Would a solicitor/magistrate not just see it as a disgruntled former tenant being vindictive? I think in any case, I'd consult a solicitor rather than winging it myself again. So, anyone know of a decent but cheap solicitor in West London? Failing that, I'm assuming the council or someone would be interested in hearing about a LL that behaves like this.
Again, thanks to all. This earlier move date and the legal security I feel from your advice has certainly settled things I know a lot of what's happened and what I'm asking might seem naïve or ill-informed, and God-knows it is, but it's nice to know I've not screwed up irreparably and there's a place for others to learn from these experiences!

G_M

Let us know how you get on.

enigmo

I will. Watch this space!