Notice to Quit

sixtyplusone

Hi just would like some clarity if anyone can help please.
My son and his partner has been given notice to quit (of two months notice) and the reason given by letting agent is that the owner wishes to sell the property.This happened in February and they started looking for new rental accommodation which they succeeded in doing.
They then went to the letting agents to inform them that they were leaving within the allocated notice to quit to which the Desk clerk said "they had to give one months notice to quit from their side" even though they had been given notice by the letting agents already.This seems to me just another way of extracting an extra months rent from my son and partner who are getting married in May and can ill afford the extra expense.
Is this a dilemma that anyone has knowledge of ?

Pixie5740

If this is England or Wales they will not have been served a notice to quit. They will have been served a Section 21 notice which is just notice the landlord might go to court to get a possession order since the tenancy can only be ended by a court or the tenant. Therefore, the letting agent is correct that in order to end the tenancy your son and his partner should serve notice.

See G_M's guide to Ending & Renewing as AST for further information.

saajan_12

If they wish to leave (and stop paying rent) earlier than the expiry of the 2 months notice, they definitely need to serve notice from the tenant’s side, giving a full rental period. To leave on (or pay rent up to) the 2 month notice expiry date, it is debatable whether a tenant’s notice is required: technically the Landlord’s notice doesn’t end a tenancy, only a tenant or court can do that, but at the same time the LL would have a hard time claiming they were serving notice but expect rent beyond that date.

The best solution all round is to speak to the LL / agent and agree a mutual surrender of the tenancy. Son/partner should explain that they have found a place and are able to move by x date, but if they lose they may not find another place soon and they would need to wait to be evicted through the courts which could take 4+months. Son/partner can also offer to accommodate viewings and keep the place tidy in exchange for an early surrender. Better for all parties to agree a convenient date that allows the marketing / sale to progress and gives time for son/partner to move without too much overlap rather than stick to arbitrary notice periods.

Pixie5740

saajan_12 wrote: »

If they wish to leave (and stop paying rent) earlier than the expiry of the 2 months notice, they definitely need to serve notice from the tenant’s side, giving a full rental period. To leave on (or pay rent up to) the 2 month notice expiry date, it is debatable whether a tenant’s notice is required: technically the Landlord’s notice doesn’t end a tenancy, only a tenant or court can do that, but at the same time the LL would have a hard time claiming they were serving notice but expect rent beyond that date.

It's not a technicality it's a legal fact. Plenty of landlords issue Section 21 and never act on them but they still expect the rent to be paid.

sixtyplusone

Thank you all for your informed input and will tell my son the bad news that it may come to him paying out the months rent .
It just goes to show that notice to quit in his case is not exactly what he explained to me ,but it it will still feel like a kick in the teeth when he has to cough up!! .