notice period question

zeitsev

hi all, new to the forum.

i recently re signed my 3rd ast agreement for 12 months in march, my landlord has put my house up for sale in june this year.

I have found a new property ro rent but it is available in 1 months time, i am required by the contract to give 2 months notice, this wont go down well with my landlord so negotiating a shorter notice period is useless, she has pretty much said she wants me to stay until the house is sold so she dosent have to pay anything to the mortgage.

what are the legal ramifications if i leave the property after only 1 months notice and not pay the last minths rent, abviously ill let her know that i have left and that i wont be returning. i have paidjulys rent in advance already and want to give notice nefore the 1st of july so i can be out on the 31st of luly at the latest.

I have been a perfect tennant for 2 years, i have even showed people around the property when the estate agent hasnt turned up. i have allowed viewings at short notice, she wanted to come with her own key when i was on holiday but i refused but i cant be sure if she came or not as the appointment wasnt re scheduled. she seems to do as she wishes so i dont think its too morally wrong for me to give 1 month instead of 2.

i will essentially be giving the required notice but leaving after 1 month not 2 and not paying the last months rent of £500. i never had to pay a bond either so nohting there to worry about, would she bother taking it to court etc?

and like a said, she wouldnt even entertain negotiating the shorther notice period.

be gentle its my first post.

G_M

You need to clarify:

zeitsev wrote: »

hi all, new to the forum.

i recently re signed my 3rd ast agreement for 12 months in march, my landlord has put my house up for sale in june this year.
So you have a legal obligation to pay rent till March 2015, unless the agreement has a 'Break Clause'.

Does it?
If so, please quote the exact wording

I have found a new property ro rent but it is available in 1 months time, i am required by the contract to give 2 months notice,
Please quote wording
this wont go down well with my landlord so negotiating a shorter notice period is useless, she has pretty much said she wants me to stay until the house is sold so she dosent have to pay anything to the mortgage.
Her problem. Trying to sell with tenants in occupation is mad.

You can make it very hard by denying access to buyers, agents, surveyors etc.

You scratch her back she scratches yours is the way forward

what are the legal ramifications if i leave the property after only 1 months notice and not pay the last minths rent,
If you breach the terms of the agreement you can be sued

Have you paid a deposit?
Is it registered?
Where and when?

she wanted to come with her own key when i was on holiday but i refused but i cant be sure if she came or not as the appointment wasnt re scheduled.
Change the lock?

she seems to do as she wishes so i dont think its too morally wrong for me to give 1 month instead of 2.
Forget morals. Since the relationship appears not good, just stick to the law.


i will essentially be giving the required notice but leaving after 1 month not 2 and not paying the last months rent of £500.
???? So you are NOT 'giving the required notice'!

As asked above, please give full details of the tenancy agreement

i never had to pay a bond either so nohting there to worry about, would she bother taking it to court etc?
Ah! Forget my deposit questions above.

I have never met her - how do I know if she'll take you to court? She might. She could (I think).

zeitsev

thanks, ok ill try and answer in order

1 it has a break clause which states we must both give 2 months notice, it doesnt say at what point during the 12 month period eg after 4 months. it says "the landlord and tennant must both give 2 months notice to end the tennancy"

2 i had thought of saying if you dont let me go ill stay until the end of my tennancy and make it diffucult for you to arrange viewings etc not sure if it woulf backfire to be honest.

3 there is a sentence in the agreement i signed which says we cannot change the locks and if we do they require a key so could be pointless.

4 yes ill GIVE the required 2 months notice as stated in the contract agreement, but i wont be sticking to it, makes me sound like a right backstabbing woman but at the end of the day i think ive been more than agreeable, to be honest im scared of confronting her about negotiating a shorter notice period, when i told her i had found a new property the first thing she said was " i hope you told them you have to give me 2 months notice"

its funny because when someone was thinking about putting an offer in she made out like i had given her notice ages ago when i didnt. now its i have to give her my 2 months in writing. it seems like everything has to go her way, and im not a confrontational person. like i say, had she been a more professional and upstanding ll and stuck to the agreement on her end i would too and just pay the last rent even if i wasnt in the house, but im at a point where i think why should i?

surly court costs would exceed the £500 rent that would be owed?

G_M

1)

unless the agreement has a 'Break Clause'.

Does it?
If so, please quote the exact wording

In full.

2) and she will activate the break clause and evict you.

3) Up to you. If you
a) suspect your privacy ('quiet enjoyment') is being invaded or b) want to make life hard for her, change the locks - only action she can do is go to court and request a court order to make you change them back. That will take 2-3 months by when you will be gone...

4) if you give (valid) notice but don't pay rent till the tenancy ends, you will owe rent and can be sued.

I'd sue you on principle. And I'm a nice guy....... :happyhear

zeitsev

that is the break clause "the landlord and tennant must both give 2 months notice to end the tennancy"

thats all it says

so would you say writing up a notice of only one month would be a better option and try and explain that if i miss out on the house because i have to stick to the notice period then i wont leave easily?

shes always banging on about her needs and what she can and cant do, i have 2 kids, one is only 2 and i have to start thinking about myself. im a single mother and i work part time so i cant afford to pay rent on 2 houses for a month if you know what i mean.

i think shes all mouth, shes not the actual stated landlord its her husband, but she is doing all of the talking. maybe i should get in touch with him directly, he might be more understanding.

at this point im just glad to be getting away, if she sues me ill have to pay her any court fees and rent at a quid a week so she wont really win

its just a big mess for the sake of a months rent. my previous landlord who is a good friend basically told me to just up sticks and leave, if it were him he wouldnt chase any monies as its too much hassle. but thats him she might be more determined.

Pixie5740

Have you already signed the paperwork for the new property? Could you negotiate a later moving in date?

From the information you've given you will need to give to 2 full rental periods notice to end your current tenancy agreement. Unfortunately overlap between one rental property and the next does happen, I've been stung by it a couple of times myself but the rent was due so I paid it.

zeitsev

saw him today and its basically move in on the 25th, any later and itll be listed in the paper for rent. its on a good street and its really cheap rent for the house and area so itll go quickly, i heard about it word of mouth before it was listed.

to be honest, in a normal situation, with a landlord that wasnt a b**ch (sorry) and wanting their own way on every point then i would just borrow the money and pay it, but ive bent so far over for her, even cancelling jobs to be home for client viewings etc i just feel like upping sticks and dealing with any consequences, if any, later.

thanks for the advice, its something to think about, maybe ill try and have the discussion about notice but be adament that if she refuses to let me surrender early i wont make it as easy as it is now for her to sell in the 2 months before i go, and ill still find somewhere else or go back to my parents until i do find something just to make a point.

ill have a straight conversation with her tomorrow. if she says no ill take it from there.

G_M

Why are you not dealing with your landlord?

Speak to the LL and negotiate an Early surrender.

Failing that, give the proper notice, in writing, to the landlord, at the proper address, and pay your rent up to the date the tenancy ends.

zeitsev

because his wife is an interfearing cow lol

ill try and speak to him about it this week, but like i say, if i want this house i cant afford to pay 2 rents

should they not have given me some sort of notice as soon as the house went up for sale? so there was vacant posession? ar at least the ball rolling to get me out?

G_M

mrginge wrote: »

You sign a contract and when things get a bit difficult you then decide to just ignore your responsibilities.
I bet you be straight on here bleating if the LL gave you two months notice and then locked you out after one.

I tend to agree, though might express it more 'delicately'.

You signed a tenancy agreement for 12 months. You wanted a Break Clause, and even had it 'checked out'.

Yet because this contract you signed now does not suit you, you plan to simply ignore it by not paying rent you will owe.

so you think its ok for them to put the house up for sale a few months after me signing a new contract, then saying dont leave until we sell the house because we dont want to have to pay our mortgage.

They do not need your permission to advertise the property. Indeed, they could sell it (to another landlord) with you still in occupation under the existing tenancy.

If they sell to an owner-occupier, they will, of course, have to evict you before their sale can Complete, presumably using the same 'Break Clause' that you had checked out and agreed to in the contract. They will have to give you two months notice under that BC, just as you should be giving them 2 months notice.

What is unfair about that?

Granted, they are being rash. Trying to sell a property which is tenanted, and not give the tenants notice until the last minute is unwise - but that is the landlord's problem (or their buyer's), not yours.

You are entitled to 2 months notice.

So is the landlord.

zeitsev

they arent selling it as tennanted, i dont even think they have told the estate agent that they havent given me or i havent given them notice. as for as the last estate agent i saw knows he thought i had given notice over a month ago. if the house wasnt being sold and the landlord was reasonable then i would try and lend the money to pay off the rent owed. but letting yorself in, bringing your own air freshner when someone comes to view as if to say the house smells. asking me to make sure my kids arent at home, turning up un announced with viewers, she now wants to come and change my curtains????

if you lived under someone like this, and beleive me giving the quiet enjoyment card means FA to her, she just comes when your not home. would you feel inclined to stick to the terms when she dosent?

people like mrginge are the reason i dont come on here. GM has been an excellent help and someone like minge comes along with his own "opinion", no real help, just a t*at with nothing better to do basically.

i would accept the answer if it was written withot a sly undertone, i sort of agree, it SEEMS like i just want to get out of paying a months rent, but if you had read the op you would see ive bent over backwards for her even when she has trodden all over my rights as a tennant in the interest of keeping her on side as my landlord.

ill pm you GM once its sorted and let you know what happened.