How/when to tell landlord I'm leaving , buying house

James-may

Hi, just a bit of advice about what I should do.
I initially signed up to rent via a Letting agent, I paid £500 Deposit.
5 years later letting agent goes bankrupt and owner contacts me direct and says just pay me same rent direct, so for 3 years been his Tennant direct.
No contracts signed other than original contract.
By coincidence, the day I got an aip, the owner phoned me and said he's selling To a friend who is looking to let the place, preferably to me, at (he says) the same rent.
I told him I'm looking to buy, and intend on l aging at some point in the coming months.
Owner has asked for my deposit info I originally with the DPS which I provided and he said he'd get it returned before he sells.
I'm hoping to be in a new house in maybe 3 months once the stuff goes through.
In the meantime the potential buyers already had valuators in, so they are maybe 3 weeks ahead of me.

My questions are, at what point do I tell landlord I'm leaving?, How much notice should I give? And how much am I liable for wear and tear for the property?
The house us fine other than a few minor things like  2 cracked times on kitchen floor, and cooker knobs are a bit loose, think it's heat damage, but it's been 8 years, and nothing whatsoever has been done to the property by owner, and the house was sold I think maybe 5 years before that with the exact same cooker, carpets, wall colours, other than boiler inspection nothing has been done, well I decorated twice.
Don't really want to be paying for 2 places for a month.
I pay rent in advance, and I beleive my first mortgage payment would be due within 6 weeks of getting the keys, so basically a month behind.
What's everyone's general advice please?
Thanks a lot.

fiveacre

1 month notice, you are unlikely to be liable for any damages as the landlord can't deduct wear and tear from your deposit, and what you've described sounds like reasonable wear and tear considering the time you've been there.

Slithery

fiveacre said:

1 month notice

Possibly, it depends on the wording of the original contract as to whether the OP currently has an SPT or a CPT.
@James-may You should read...
Ending/renewing an AST

Blue_bell_20

It’s a good idea to wait until exchange before giving notice, just to be sure. If you do it before then you risk having no home rather than two. You could ask for a 1-2 week exchange to completion? Which would reduce that gap? 

James-may

The original contract says it's a shorthold tenancy agreement, and says after 6 months I must give 1 month notice.

NQManchester

I would check the wording on your contract, usually once you’re on a periodic tenancy agreement your notice has to end on the last day before or day your rent is due. Mistime it and you could end up with a near two month overlap. 

I’ve managed to get around that with agreement from a nice landlady though so worth asking them.

Slithery

NQManchester said:

I would check the wording on your contract, usually once you’re on a periodic tenancy agreement your notice has to end on the last day before or day your rent is due of your tenancy start date.

Fixed that for you. It's the tenancy start date which is important, this may or may not be the same date that the rent is due.

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob

Keep two houses for at least 2 weeks. It will pay dividends with moving and taking time

saajan_12

James-may said:

Hi, just a bit of advice about what I should do.
I initially signed up to rent via a Letting agent, I paid £500 Deposit.
5 years later letting agent goes bankrupt and owner contacts me direct and says just pay me same rent direct, so for 3 years been his Tennant direct. - you were likely always the LL's tenant direct, they just had an agent do the legwork for them. 
No contracts signed other than original contract. - that's fine, it would continue as a rolling tenancy on the same terms. 
By coincidence, the day I got an aip, the owner phoned me and said he's selling To a friend who is looking to let the place, preferably to me, at (he says) the same rent. - if you don't sign anything new and are still there when the ownership changes, then yes rent and the entire tenancy would stay on the same terms, just with a new LL. 
I told him I'm looking to buy, and intend on l aging at some point in the coming months.
Owner has asked for my deposit info I originally with the DPS which I provided and he said he'd get it returned before he sells. - okay, up to him.. not necessary though, he could just pass it on to friend who would become your LL if you're still there. 
I'm hoping to be in a new house in maybe 3 months once the stuff goes through. - that's an estimate, but don't rely on it until you've exchanged - until then it could all get delayed or fall through. 
In the meantime the potential buyers already had valuators in, so they are maybe 3 weeks ahead of me. 

My questions are, at what point do I tell landlord I'm leaving?, - informally, anytime. As proper notice, when you've exchanged. 
How much notice should I give? - whatever it says in your initial contract. If it says nothing, then you'd be on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy, and would have to give 1 period's notice, i.e. 1 month, in line with your tenancy periods. So if you serve it mid month, then effectively you have 1.5 months before you can terminate. 
And how much am I liable for wear and tear for the property?  - not liable for normal wear and tear. You are liable for extraordinary wear & tear or actual damage through negligence. 
The house us fine other than a few minor things like  2 cracked times on kitchen floor, and cooker knobs are a bit loose, think it's heat damage, but it's been 8 years, and nothing whatsoever has been done to the property by owner, and the house was sold I think maybe 5 years before that with the exact same cooker, carpets, wall colours, other than boiler inspection nothing has been done, well I decorated twice. - thats fine, they don't have to decorate etc. cooker knobs sound like fair wear & tear. Re the cracked tiles, depends on the cause - if you dropped something on it, might be your responsibility, but if they aren't well supported then not your fault. 
Don't really want to be paying for 2 places for a month. 
I pay rent in advance, and I beleive my first mortgage payment would be due within 6 weeks of getting the keys, so basically a month behind. - you could negotiate with your seller to have a bigger gap between exchange & completion, or negotiate with the LL to let you leave with less notice. However you don't have a right to this. 
What's everyone's general advice please?
Thanks a lot.

Check your original contract for the exact wording about notice after the fixed term. Note it might have to be in line with tenancy periods instead of being calendar months, but check. 

James-may

My original contract says it's payable in advance on the 30th of each calender month.

James-may

saajan_12 said:

James-may said:

Hi, just a bit of advice about what I should do.
I initially signed up to rent via a Letting agent, I paid £500 Deposit.
5 years later letting agent goes bankrupt and owner contacts me direct and says just pay me same rent direct, so for 3 years been his Tennant direct. - you were likely always the LL's tenant direct, they just had an agent do the legwork for them. 
No contracts signed other than original contract. - that's fine, it would continue as a rolling tenancy on the same terms. 
By coincidence, the day I got an aip, the owner phoned me and said he's selling To a friend who is looking to let the place, preferably to me, at (he says) the same rent. - if you don't sign anything new and are still there when the ownership changes, then yes rent and the entire tenancy would stay on the same terms, just with a new LL. 
I told him I'm looking to buy, and intend on l aging at some point in the coming months.
Owner has asked for my deposit info I originally with the DPS which I provided and he said he'd get it returned before he sells. - okay, up to him.. not necessary though, he could just pass it on to friend who would become your LL if you're still there. 
I'm hoping to be in a new house in maybe 3 months once the stuff goes through. - that's an estimate, but don't rely on it until you've exchanged - until then it could all get delayed or fall through. 
In the meantime the potential buyers already had valuators in, so they are maybe 3 weeks ahead of me. 

My questions are, at what point do I tell landlord I'm leaving?, - informally, anytime. As proper notice, when you've exchanged. 
How much notice should I give? - whatever it says in your initial contract. If it says nothing, then you'd be on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy, and would have to give 1 period's notice, i.e. 1 month, in line with your tenancy periods. So if you serve it mid month, then effectively you have 1.5 months before you can terminate. 
And how much am I liable for wear and tear for the property?  - not liable for normal wear and tear. You are liable for extraordinary wear & tear or actual damage through negligence. 
The house us fine other than a few minor things like  2 cracked times on kitchen floor, and cooker knobs are a bit loose, think it's heat damage, but it's been 8 years, and nothing whatsoever has been done to the property by owner, and the house was sold I think maybe 5 years before that with the exact same cooker, carpets, wall colours, other than boiler inspection nothing has been done, well I decorated twice. - thats fine, they don't have to decorate etc. cooker knobs sound like fair wear & tear. Re the cracked tiles, depends on the cause - if you dropped something on it, might be your responsibility, but if they aren't well supported then not your fault. 
Don't really want to be paying for 2 places for a month. 
I pay rent in advance, and I beleive my first mortgage payment would be due within 6 weeks of getting the keys, so basically a month behind. - you could negotiate with your seller to have a bigger gap between exchange & completion, or negotiate with the LL to let you leave with less notice. However you don't have a right to this. 
What's everyone's general advice please?
Thanks a lot.

Check your original contract for the exact wording about notice after the fixed term. Note it might have to be in line with tenancy periods instead of being calendar months, but check. 

Thanks for that.