End of tenancy agreement

littlemiss_sal

Hello
Can anyone advise me.. our contract runs out on 29th July and we do not wish to renew it. I spoke to the estate agent today as I’m aware we give 4 weeks notice however 29th is in 2 weeks. 

She has said we need to give our 4 weeks notice on the 29th July when contract ends.
If we didn’t want to at that time, we would wait and give notice 29th of the next month and so on (29th aug, or 29th sept).

it puts us in a difficult position because if we find another property in the next week and can move in sooner, we would be paying for our current house as well as the new house.

I don’t know if it’s worth adding they were late sending contract renewals out. I received it last Thursday.

hope this makes sense!

At my previous property, the landlady let me give 4 weeks notice and I paid the difference as it fell a few days after rent was due.

theartfullodger

Assuming this is England.  And not a CPT.

A tenant may end tenancy (at end of fixed term) by leaving property before end of fixed term.  No notice required.  Return keys and take LOADS of photos (low quality....). 

MultiFuelBurner

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/renting/how_a_tenant_can_end_a_tenancy/tenant_ends_an_assured_or_assured_shorthold_tenancy

This is a quote from the above link

Tenant leaves by the last day of the fixed term

The common law rule is that a tenant can leave on the last day of a fixed term tenancy without giving notice and this ends the tenancy. [4]

If the tenant remains even a day longer than the last day of a fixed-term tenancy a statutory periodic assured tenancy arises automatically. The tenant can end a statutory periodic tenancy by serving a valid notice to quit.

4]

Right d. Flower v. Darby (1786) 1 T.R. 159; Cobb v Stokes (1807) 8 East 358.

littlemiss_sal

Thank you
my partner informs we that we are not on a fixed term 

MultiFuelBurner

Then the letting/estate agent is correct 4 weeks notice and make sure you serve the notice correctly.

How a tenant can end a periodic tenancy

A tenant can end a periodic tenancy by giving valid notice to quit.

A notice to quit must be in writing. The notice period must be at least four weeks, or equivalent to the period of the tenancy if this is longer.

The tenant might need to give a longer period of notice if they have a contractual periodic tenancy and this is specified in the contract. The tenancy is contractual periodic if:

it was periodic from the beginning, without a fixed term

the contract provides that it continues as a periodic tenancy at the end of the fixed term

If the tenancy is statutory periodic then any clause in the initial fixed term about ending the tenancy has no effect. This includes a clause requiring the tenant to give a longer notice to quit.

The tenant can also end a periodic tenancy by agreeing a surrender with the landlord.

saajan_12

littlemiss_sal said:

Hello
Can anyone advise me.. our contract runs out on 29th July- what exactly does this mean? Usually people mean their fixed term ends, but you later say that's not the case. 
and we do not wish to renew it.  I spoke to the estate agent today as I’m aware we give 4 weeks notice however 29th is in 2 weeks. 

She has said we need to give our 4 weeks notice on the 29th July when contract ends. 
If we didn’t want to at that time, we would wait and give notice 29th of the next month and so on (29th aug, or 29th sept). - depends on what your last contract says about notice.. Its often x months in line with the tenancy periods (1 month isn't the same as 4 weeks, and it matters whether its calendar months or aligned to tenancy periods). Please quote. 

it puts us in a difficult position because if we find another property in the next week and can move in sooner, we would be paying for our current house as well as the new house. - well yes that's always a possibility. Either budget for covering 2 properties (and possibly have more time to move in slowly, clean etc to avoid other costs) or negotiate dates with either the new or old LL to avoid much overlap. 

I don’t know if it’s worth adding they were late sending contract renewals out. I received it last Thursday. - irrelevant, they didn't have to send a renewal at all and your tenancy continue on a periodic basis. 

hope this makes sense!

At my previous property, the landlady let me give 4 weeks notice and I paid the difference as it fell a few days after rent was due. - that may have been due to different notice terms, or may have been a concession given. No bearing on the legalities of the current tenancy. 

Please confirm the dates on the latest contract you have and what exactly it says about notice. You mention a contract running out and renewing it, but also that there was no fixed term.. Only then can we advise for sure, otherwise for now its all speculation. 

propertyrental

"our contract runs out on 29th July" but later
"we are not on a fixed term "
so these 2 statements contradict each other. Please check and clarify.

If periodic (not fixed term) " the letting/estate agent is correct 4 weeks notice and make sure you serve the notice correctly." this may or may not be true. It depends if it's a Statutory or Contractual Periodic AST. If contractual, what does the contract say(please quote).

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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?