No end date on an assured 6 months tenancy

Kent_guy

Hi,
Is it usual not to include an end date of a 6 month term tenancy? I have 'a term certain of 6 months commencing on the 1st April 2015'.
Months could imply 4 weeks or 1 calendar month so its not a precise statement.


Thanks

davidmcn

Kent_guy wrote: »

Months could imply 4 weeks or 1 calendar month

I've never known "month" to imply 4 weeks (unless there's some unusual definition in the agreement).

G_M

I can't think of a single month in the year that comprises just 4 weeks... can you?

'a term certain of 6 months commencing on the 1st April 2015' will expire on Sept 30th.

It is totally precise, and yes, it is quite usual.

jjlandlord

G_M wrote: »

I can't think of a single month in the year that comprises just 4 weeks... can you?

Yes, February.

booksurr

in legal terms a 4 week period (28 days) may also be called a lunar month

however, in my opinion, as no end date is stipulated in the agreement if there was a dispute and it came to court, judges normally give the benefit of the doubt towards the person who did not write the contract. Depending on the circumstances of the case it could mean either calendar month or lunar month if one is more advantageous than the other to the non writer (ie presumably the tenant).

there are of course 13 lunar months to a calendar year which is why it may be used as it means the LL gets paid more often albeit there are only 264 days in a lunar year so the annual figure needs adjusting if using that approach

G_M

jjlandlord wrote: »

Yes, February.

Well spotted. I Like to keep everyone on their toes!

Now - is it true that in leap years we have 6 consecutive Ferbruaries? Assuming yes (and assuming the first of these 6 Febs follow April), then the term certian of 6 months would expire on 28th Feb.

silvercar

If the same contract stipulates the rent as £xx per month, then any judge would look to see if you are paying £xx every lunar month or every calender month and use that to determine what the tenant considers a month to be.

jjlandlord

Let's put it another way: unless made clear in the agreement, what did the parties mean by '6 months'?

There might be 'lunar months' but everyone means calendar months when talking about a 6 month AST.

Moreover, as silvercare points out, I highly doubt that the tenant would start paying his monthly rent every 4 weeks.

Judges must decide on the balance of probabilities, not on remote legal possibilities.