Assured Shorthold Tenancy Ended - 2 Months Notice?

VPOL13

Hello all,
Hope you are all well and safe.
I would appreciate if someone has any experience with the following:
According to my AST contract: 
"The tenant agrees to confirm in writing to the landlord no later than 2 months prior to the end of their tenancy of their intentions to vacate the property. If notice is not received then the landlord gives reasonable agreement to allow the tenancy to continue on a periodic basis (subject to 2 months' written notice from the tenant or 2 months written notice from the landlord" 
I am on a periodic basis the last 2 years and due to personal circumstances  and loss of income, I would like to give him 1 month notice and move to another flat. I have been advised that due to the fact that the tenancy has ended, I am on a periodic basis now and this is a statutory periodic tenancy now  and that I can challenge the 2 months notice and move out by giving him just 1 month notice.
Has anyone a similar experience?
Thanks in advance for your time.
Kind regards,
Vas

rik111

Ignore me 🙈

Slithery

You don't have a SPT, you have a CPT with 2 months written notice needed. Read...

Ending/renewing an AST

greatcrested

Slithery said:

You don't have a SPT, you have a CPT with 2 months written notice needed. Read...

Ending/renewing an AST

Yes. The contract stipulates what happens after the fixed term ends. It clearly states, contractually, that "continue on a periodic basis (subject to 2 months' written notice from the tenant ..."

You have a CPT not an SPT.

Surprisingly it does not stipulate "ending with a contract period" implying 2 calender months notice. However given that Periods are indivisible for rent perposes you would be wise to align notice with the ending of a Period.

As slithery suggests, read my post here:

Post 4: Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

greatcrested

rik111 said:

Yes you only have to give one months notice, doesn’t matter what is written in the tenancy, law overrides that nonsense. Don’t get bullied, give your months notice and leave. 

The law is clear: Where the contract makes allowance for a continuation of the tenancy following the fixed term, a Statutory Periodic Tenancy does NOT arise. Read the Housing Act 1988

A SPT only arises after the fixed term if there is no other contractual arrangement, which in this case there is.

Hence the contractually agreed notice period of 2 months is valid.

The only nonsense is the content of your post rik111 I'm afraid.

oldbikebloke

rik111 said:

Yes you only have to give one months notice, doesn’t matter what is written in the tenancy, law overrides that nonsense. Don’t get bullied, give your months notice and leave. 

you apparently spout your own nonsense

OP quotes from the AST they signed, which very clearly sets out the terms of a Contractual periodic tenancy, which therefore is recognised in statute law as defining the terms under which the periodic tenancy can be ended by the tenant giving 2 months notice.
 
The slight quibble with the wording is it does not define "months" - the fact it does not categorically state rental periods would therefore probably (in court) allow the tenant, as the person who did not write the contract, to be given the benefit of the doubt and thus take it as calendar months 

greatcrested

oldbikebloke said:

rik111 said:

Yes you only have to give one months notice, doesn’t matter what is written in the tenancy, law overrides that nonsense. Don’t get bullied, give your months notice and leave. 

The slight quibble with the wording is it does not define "months" - the fact it does not categorically state rental periods would therefore probably (in court) allow the tenant, as the person who did not write the contract, to be given the benefit of the doubt and thus take it as calendar months 

A valid arguement, though Common Law does not allow for rental periods to be divisible,, so I suspect a court would require rent to paid to the end of the period even if the calender months notice ended mid-period. But courts can be surprising sometimes!

The exception is where a LL has served a S21 which ends mid period, which is now covered by the Deregulation Act 2015 S40.

VPOL13

Thanks a lot for your responses. Much appreciated. 

saajan_12

You've had correct advice, but just to clarify on some of the details in your OP:

VPOL13 said:

Hello all,
Hope you are all well and safe.
I would appreciate if someone has any experience with the following:
According to my AST contract: 
"The tenant agrees to confirm in writing to the landlord no later than 2 months prior to the end of their tenancy of their intentions to vacate the property. If notice is not received then the landlord gives reasonable agreement to allow the tenancy to continue on a periodic basis (subject to 2 months' written notice from the tenant or 2 months written notice from the landlord" - okay, so that defines a Contractual Periodic Tenancy, with 2 'months' notice. Unclear whether that is periods or calendar months. 
I am on a periodic basis the last 2 years and due to personal circumstances  and loss of income, I would like to give him 1 month notice and move to another flat. - you can leave, but you must continue paying rent, utilities, etc for the 2 months notice agreed. I have been advised that due to the fact that the tenancy has ended,  - No, the tenancy hasn't ended (you're still there!) Only the fixed term has ended. I am on a periodic basis now and this is a statutory periodic tenancy now  - no, a SPT arises if the contract is silent on what happens after the fixed term. Yours is not, so you have a CPT not SPT. and that I can challenge the 2 months notice and move out by giving him just 1 month notice. - Even if it was a SPT (its not) the notice wouldn't be 1 calendar month. It would be 1 tenancy period, so would have to align with your tenancy dates which could end up being just shy of 2 calendar months anyway. 
Has anyone a similar experience?
Thanks in advance for your time.
Kind regards,
Vas

You have a CPT as defined in your tenancy, with 2 months notice. This could be 
a) 2 calendar months because it is unclear and so interpreted in your favour
b) 2 tenancy periods because you can't subdivide tenancy periods and pay a part month, if you start the month you have to pay the whole monthly rent. 

Unclear which a court would decide, but its certainly not 1 month / 1 period.