Agent advised we will be served notice during fixed term

seanfos

Looking for clarification please. We are in the final few weeks of a six month fixed term rental and have just received a phone call from the agent to advise the landlord will serve notice. I know this does not mean we have to immediately vacate either now or after the two months notice period, but I just want to check:

1. Will the two months period start from when notice is served or from when the fixed term ends?
2. We are hoping to move into our new house May/June anyway, so am I best to advise the agent of this now and ask for some leniency?
3. If the landlord refuses to allow us the time we need should we advise the agent we will be staying, continue to pay rent and let them start court proceedings?  I assume this will still take several months so we should be long gone by then

Thank you

Sean

diggingdude

let them know when you are planning on leaving, it will be the quickest route for them to get you out

saajan_12

seanfos said:

Looking for clarification please. We are in the final few weeks of a six month fixed term rental and have just received a phone call from the agent to advise the landlord will serve notice. I know this does not mean we have to immediately vacate either now or after the two months notice period, but I just want to check:

1. Will the two months period start from when notice is served or from when the fixed term ends?- it would be whatever their notice states, earliest from the date the notice is served. 
2. We are hoping to move into our new house May/June anyway, so am I best to advise the agent of this now and ask for some leniency? - depends on how you think the LL / agent will react, no clear answer we can give you. You can always ask, but since you can't give a firm date and your house purchase could always fall through, it would make sense for the LL to get the ball rolling with notice / court. 
3. If the landlord refuses to allow us the time we need should we advise the agent we will be staying, continue to pay rent and let them start court proceedings?  I assume this will still take several months so we should be long gone by then - yes. Note you would be liable for the court costs. 

Thank you

Sean

Answers in line. They can serve the notice immediately, and there are several criteria to ensure its valid. It would likely take several months before you can actually be evicted, but you'd be liable for court costs if the process is already started before you leave. 

canaldumidi

seanfos said:

1. Will the two months period start from when notice is served or from when the fixed term ends?
2. We are hoping to move into our new house May/June anyway, so am I best to advise the agent of this now and ask for some leniency?
3. If the landlord refuses to allow us the time we need should we advise the agent we will be staying, continue to pay rent and let them start court proceedings?  I assume this will still take several months so we should be long gone by then

1) If the S21 Notice is served at the 4 month point, it will expire 2 months later in line with the end of the fixed term.

It cannot be served before the 4 month point.

If it is served later than the 4 month point eg after 5 months, it will expire 2 months later eg 1 month after the fixed term ends.

2) You can always negotiate a mutually acceptable date to end the tenancy, but as you do not sound certain yet of when you want it to end there is little point discussing it. When the time comes, uness you have agreed a mutually acceptable end date, you must serve the proper notice.

3) Yes a S21 will take a number of months to reach court. When your fixed term ends, continue to pay rent and you will have a periodic (rolling) tenancy. Don't forget to serve proper notice:

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?

seanfos

Thank you all for the advice. We will be buying a new build which is currently well on track, but obviously could be delayed at any point. This is the only part that makes me hesitate on trying to negotiate a date. I suppose I could try and discuss a date that will give us plenty of flexibility, then if agreed and our developer can’t deliver we have to refuse to leave and accept the court costs

Sean

saajan_12

seanfos said:

Thank you all for the advice. We will be buying a new build which is currently well on track, but obviously could be delayed at any point. This is the only part that makes me hesitate on trying to negotiate a date. I suppose I could try and discuss a date that will give us plenty of flexibility, then if agreed and our developer can’t deliver we have to refuse to leave and accept the court costs

Sean

Whats the point of discussing a date that gives you flexibility?
- If its a flexible date -> thats the same as no date, as its not a binding agreement. 
- If its a fixed date you mutually agree to terminate on that's well in the future & if you need to leave sooner -> you'd end up paying rent + mortgage for the overlap, much the same as if you just gave notice then. No way to tell now which way will give you a longer overlap
- If its a fixed date you mutually agree to terminate on that's well in the future & if you need to leave later -> eviction wise yes the LL may still have to go to court. However you'd also be in breach of a contractual agreement to leave on a certain date, which the LL may  have reasonably relied on to arrange repairs / new tenant. I don't know of a prescedent either way, but seems logical they could sue you for their damages eg not just court costs, but also rehousing the other tenant while you leave etc. 

You really have no basis for discussing dates at this point. Let them serve the notice and revisit mutual agreements MUCH closer to exchange. 

seanfos

saajan_12 said:

- If its a flexible date -> thats the same as no date, as its not a binding agreement.

I phrased that badly, what I meant is we pick a future date that builds in some slippage on the developer's schedule and some crossover between properties. I am not suggesting we don’t fix a date with the landlord

Sean

RAS

Have you exchanged contracts?

Thrugelmir

Might well be opening up an avenue of discussion via the Agent. To sound out the LL and see if there's a way of mutually benefitting. If you don't ask you'll never know.  

newsgroupmonkey_

seanfos said:

saajan_12 said:

- If its a flexible date -> thats the same as no date, as its not a binding agreement.

I phrased that badly, what I meant is we pick a future date that builds in some slippage on the developer's schedule and some crossover between properties. I am not suggesting we don’t fix a date with the landlord

Sean

Something to consider. Building supplies are short and many newbuilds are being stretched out.

I read here, someone who thought they were moving in April and it's been pushed out to November.

seanfos

RAS said:

Have you exchanged contracts?

Yes, with completion on notice (10 working days)

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

Something to consider. Building supplies are short and many newbuilds are being stretched out.

This is definitely a concern and something we have talked to our developer about. They were building over the past couple of years so have experience of working through the toughest times. They have stockpiled as many materials as possible. The shell of the house is all but complete now, should they fall way behind schedule then we will have to move to another temporary rental

Sean