Last month rent payment

James-may

Hi sorry to create another thread, I've had a few recently😳

I gave my landlord notice on 14th of last month, I'm on a rolling monthly contract after my fixed term ended 7 years ago.

I spoke on the phone and asked if he wanted it written and he told me no it's fine so long as you tell me, which I had just did.

I contacted him a few days ago to ask how much rent I should pay as I would only be here for around half of this month, and as I pay in advance obviously I would be paying too much rent if I paid the full amount.

He stated I'm required to pay the full amount then he would refund back anything I had overpaid.

The landlord has been fine with me through this whole tenancy, however he has recently needed to rewire the house due to regulations changing for landlords, and I'm worried he's maybe thinking he can try hold on to the extra 2 weeks rent and my deposit of £500 to pay off some of the work he has had done, or to repaint the house to make it more appealing to new tenants.

Am I just being paranoid here, or is it normal practice to get a full month rent then pay it back?

I mean I suppose from his perspective the completion date I've been given may fall through and he'd need to chase me for more rent if I stayed.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

anselld

As far as contract is concerned rental months are not divisible so if you leave mid-month you are not due a 2 week refund.  Likewise you should not have given notice if your completion date may fall through since your notice cannot be recinded by you unilaterally.

If you have specifically agreed something different with the Landlord fair enough, but it should be in writing and it seems unlikely that they would be asking for it to be paid only to be returned.

As far as wishing to retain deposit is concerned, that is where the deposit scheme protects you.  Take pictures when you leave.  It is up to the L to justify fair deductions based on damage which can be evidenced.  They cannot retain funds just because they have incurred necessary repair costs.

James-may

anselld said:

As far as contract is concerned rental months are not divisible so if you leave mid-month you are not due a 2 week refund.  Likewise you should not have given notice if your completion date may fall through since your notice cannot be recinded by you unilaterally.

If you have specifically agreed something different with the Landlord fair enough, but it should be in writing and it seems unlikely that they would be asking for it to be paid only to be returned.

As far as wishing to retain deposit is concerned, that is where the deposit scheme protects you.  Take pictures when you leave.  It is up to the L to justify fair deductions based on damage which can be evidenced.  They cannot retain funds just because they have incurred necessary repair costs.

Any completion can fall through, how does anyone move from a rental to a purchase when giving notice?

If it's the case that a whole callender month must be paid for then I may as well hold on to the keys til end of the month....if only to stop the landlord from making additional money out of it by letting to someone while still receiving my rent.

Thanks for the reply.

anselld

James-may said:

anselld said:

As far as contract is concerned rental months are not divisible so if you leave mid-month you are not due a 2 week refund.  Likewise you should not have given notice if your completion date may fall through since your notice cannot be recinded by you unilaterally.

If you have specifically agreed something different with the Landlord fair enough, but it should be in writing and it seems unlikely that they would be asking for it to be paid only to be returned.

As far as wishing to retain deposit is concerned, that is where the deposit scheme protects you.  Take pictures when you leave.  It is up to the L to justify fair deductions based on damage which can be evidenced.  They cannot retain funds just because they have incurred necessary repair costs.

Any completion can fall through, how does anyone move from a rental to a purchase when giving notice?

The normal advice is to wait until after exchange of contracts after which it is very unlikely to fall through and if it does you can claim your consequential costs.

James-may said:

If it's the case that a whole callender month must be paid for then I may as well hold on to the keys til end of the month....if only to stop the landlord from making additional money out of it by letting to someone while still receiving my rent.

Yes.  Although having an overlap does make the move a lot easier as well.

James-may

anselld said:

James-may said:

anselld said:

As far as contract is concerned rental months are not divisible so if you leave mid-month you are not due a 2 week refund.  Likewise you should not have given notice if your completion date may fall through since your notice cannot be recinded by you unilaterally.

If you have specifically agreed something different with the Landlord fair enough, but it should be in writing and it seems unlikely that they would be asking for it to be paid only to be returned.

As far as wishing to retain deposit is concerned, that is where the deposit scheme protects you.  Take pictures when you leave.  It is up to the L to justify fair deductions based on damage which can be evidenced.  They cannot retain funds just because they have incurred necessary repair costs.

Any completion can fall through, how does anyone move from a rental to a purchase when giving notice?

The normal advice is to wait until after exchange of contracts after which it is very unlikely to fall through and if it does you can claim your consequential costs.

James-may said:

If it's the case that a whole callender month must be paid for then I may as well hold on to the keys til end of the month....if only to stop the landlord from making additional money out of it by letting to someone while still receiving my rent.

Yes.  Although having an overlap does make the move a lot easier as well.

I gave notice once documents were signed, and the 3rd of sept given as completion date.
I gave notice in 14th of August so that I had around 2 weeks with both houses to make sure both were clean and had time to move.

Gets me thinking now need hold on to keys until last day, take photos of every room, along with photos of carpets being cleaned, but carpets have been down in there since at least 2012, so won't come up like new, no matter what I do.
If I need to pay the full month fair enough, but I ain't handing the keys over a day early if that's the case.

Slithery

James-may said:

anselld said:

James-may said:

anselld said:

As far as contract is concerned rental months are not divisible so if you leave mid-month you are not due a 2 week refund.  Likewise you should not have given notice if your completion date may fall through since your notice cannot be recinded by you unilaterally.

If you have specifically agreed something different with the Landlord fair enough, but it should be in writing and it seems unlikely that they would be asking for it to be paid only to be returned.

As far as wishing to retain deposit is concerned, that is where the deposit scheme protects you.  Take pictures when you leave.  It is up to the L to justify fair deductions based on damage which can be evidenced.  They cannot retain funds just because they have incurred necessary repair costs.

Any completion can fall through, how does anyone move from a rental to a purchase when giving notice?

The normal advice is to wait until after exchange of contracts after which it is very unlikely to fall through and if it does you can claim your consequential costs.

James-may said:

If it's the case that a whole callender month must be paid for then I may as well hold on to the keys til end of the month....if only to stop the landlord from making additional money out of it by letting to someone while still receiving my rent.

Yes.  Although having an overlap does make the move a lot easier as well.

I gave notice once documents were signed, and the 3rd of sept given as completion date.
I gave notice in 14th of August so that I had around 2 weeks with both houses to make sure both were clean and had time to move.

Have you actually exchanged contracts yet though? You shouldn't give notice until you do.

James-may

No I gave around a 2 week buffer so that there was a buffer there, but then if what is being said is correct I will have until the end of the callander month to move out as that's what I am paying for, if it all falls through then I suppose I could sign another fixed term contract, or stay with relatives until a new purchase comes along.

I think unlikely to fall through though, seller is a landlord selling up, so no chain to collapse.

dimbo61

You should get your deposit within 10 working days.
So at the most 2 weeks if you move out on a Friday.
If the landlords tries to claim any of the deposit after you have lived there for over 8 years then go to the arbitration scheme with the deposit people.
Hopefully after 8 years the Landlord will not only give you back your full deposit but also any extra days ( rent ) you are due from moving out early.

James-may

Thanks everyone, I guess I'll see what happens. 
The only real things I'm concerned about in the house "damage" wise is the carpets being clean, and the back and front garden area, the back area has loose stones down and weeds grow constantly, and honestly recently Ive neglected recently it with all the stuff going on, so I'll need to pull the weeds up, I've already sprayed week killer down to kill them, so will spend a day pulling them up.

Also the cookers knobs have cracked and fell off with the heat, so some are loose, and some I replaced with ones of the same colour that fit, but dont match the rest, so they might charge for that.
I also Intend on cleaning the carpets, however they are at least 10 years old, as if I search the internet I can find photos from Rightmove  when it was sold to him with the same carpets, cooker, even curtains in place.

I guess we will see, I never budget to get a deposit back, but I'll certainly fight it if he tries to claim anything I think unreasonable.

As for the rent,I hadn't actually thought about it , I just presumed I would pay him a proportion of the months rent as it's upfront, seems complicated to pay it all then claim it back, but if he says I can't have the few weeks back I might keep the keys until the end of the month when my rent covers me until.
But then he may ask for the keys back on the day I said I'm moving out, then next week refuse to give me the money back, leaving me with no option other than small claims, and I guess I'd lose that if what folk here are saying is true, in that I should have left at the end of the callander month.

brett19852010

You gave notice and should leave on or before that date. It's not your home to be in after that date.

On the plus side the landlord wont be able to claim for carpets of that age or for items of fair wear and tear. Vacuum, remove weeds but don't fuss.

Mac_70_

I don't see what your concern is, you said in the first post that he's been a good landlord. Now your trying too second guess him, and find ways to not let him get one extra penny.