Break clause tenancy question

blondy24

This is the text in the tenancy agreement;

Notwithstanding the fixed term stated in Clause 1 of the main terms if the tenancy,the parties hereby agree that this agreement may be terminated by either party giving to the other at least two months notice in writing, such notice not to expire until after the six months of the start date of the term.

If you moved into a rental property on the 20th June does this mean you have to give two months notice prior to the 20th Decemberif you want to leave using your break clause? When would you need to move out? Or can you give two months notice on the 1st January to move out on the 1st March? Sorry bit confused by the wording. I just need to clarity.

thesaint

In the case of the tenant, to me it reads that the tenant could give notice at anytime to activate the break clause and the tenant would be responsible for the rent up to and including the 19th Dec at the earliest, or any date thereafter.

In the case of the landlord, he wouldn't be able to use the break clause as it is written if this is a tenancy starting in 2016

booksurr

that is, as ever with break clauses, appalling wording!

if it came to court the judge should interpret it in favour of the person who did not write toe contract - ie favour you

let us assume you have a 12 months contract (yes?) running from 20th June 2016 - 19th June 2017 then, as written, that clause allows you to give notice which ends on 6 months +1 day after the tenancy started, provided you gave that notice at least 2 months before that end date

so with a 20th June start to give notice which ends (6 months) it must be given before 20th Oct (ie 2 months). So "after" 19th Dec is the earliest date you can break the contract

If you want to leave at any time between 20th Dec 16 - 19th June 17 you simply have to give notice at least 2 months before the end date you pick on. It is not tied to either the tenancy period (20th - 19th) or the rent payment date. You can leave any date you want provided you give at least "2 months" notice.

G_M

Seems very clear:

* 6 months from 20th June 2016 is 19th December, so 20th Jan 2017 is more than the required minimum 6 months
* To end he tenancy on 20th Jan, 'at least 2 months notice' would need to be served on or before 20th November
* To end the tenancy on 20th Dec (the earliest date possible), 'at least 2 months notice' would need to be served on or before 20th October
* To end the tenancy on 1st March, 'at least 2 months notice' would need to be served on or before 1st January (but beware you may have to pay rent to 19th March unless agreed otherwise as rent is not divisible)

theSaint:

In the case of the landlord, he wouldn't be able to use the break clause

Am I missing something? Why?

Miss_Samantha

The wording is clear.
It states that at least 2 months notice in writing is required and when such notice may expire.

blondy24

Thanks so after the six months I can give two months notice to leave e.g. if we wanted to leave in Feb we just need to give the two months notice in December? I thought after the first six months you had to stay the whole 12 months.

thesaint

G_M wrote: »

theSaint:
Am I missing something? Why?

Sorry, I should have clarified.
The landlord could not use the break clause in the same way as it is written.

The tenant could give notice today to expire after 6 months. The landlord cannot.

G_M

thesaint wrote: »

Sorry, I should have clarified.
The landlord could not use the break clause in the same way as it is written.

The tenant could give notice today to expire after 6 months. The landlord cannot.

To be pedantic, I think (?)..

The LL could give notice today to end the tenancy under the Break Clause at the 6 month point, but would also need to serve a S21 Notice which, as you say, could not be done until the 4 month point.

so after the six months I can give two months notice to leave e.g. if we wanted to leave in Feb we just need to give the two months notice in December? I thought after the first six months you had to stay the whole 12 months.

What makes you think that? It says clearly:

may be terminated by either party giving to the other at least two months notice in writing, such notice not to expire until after the six months of the start date of the term.

it does not restrict when, provded it is after the 6months

thesaint

G_M wrote: »

To be pedantic, I think (?)..

The LL could give notice today to end the tenancy under the Break Clause at the 6 month point, but would also need to serve a S21 Notice which, as you say, could not be done until the 4 month point.

I suppose the landlord could activate the break clause, but it is impotent.
The landlord placing a bucket of olive oil on the tenants doorstep carries as much weight.

Miss_Samantha

The break clause is valid and can be taken at face value by the landlord for what it is supposed to do: End the tenancy.

However, for possession proceedings what also matters is to comply with s.21.

Since a s.21 notice may only expire after the first 6 months of occupation, and the break clause also only allows the tenancy to be determined after the first 6 months there is no problem as long as care is taken as to when a s.21 may be served.

Blame the Deregulation Act for messing things even more.

thesaint

The only point I am making is that the break clause doesn't hold equal weight for the landlord as it does the tenant.

I agree the rules that came in on the 1st Oct 2015 is what has caused this inconsistency, but the landlord has used this clause in a tenancy post 1st Oct 2015.

Miss_Samantha wrote: »

The break clause is valid and can be taken at face value by the landlord for what it is supposed to do: End the tenancy.

It allows the landlord to start proceedings to bring it to an end.