Leaving rental at end of 12m fixed term without giving notice

c1995

doodling said:

Hi,

There seems to be some confusion here.

The tenancy can be ended by the tenant leaving at the end of the fixed term and as far as statute law is concerned that is the end and no further rent is due.

The wording in the tenancy agreement is an attempt to create a contractual liability for the tenant to compensate the landlord if they exercise their right to end the tenancy at the end of the fixed term.  The effectiveness of such clauses is rarely tested in court and I am not aware of a precedent setting court ruling on the matter so the legal effectiveness of such a clause is unclear.

In this particular case, it would be a difficult argument for the landlord as they clearly want the tenant to leave anyway and have served a S21 to that end.  I think a court might look unfavourably on an attempt to sue for the notice period.

With respect to the S21, it has no legal status with respect to the tenancy itself.  It doesn't mean that the tenancy is ending, it isn't a notice relating directly to the tenancy itself and most importantly, it doesn't mean that the tenant shouldn't serve their own notice if they want to leave.  A S21 is simply a notice that there will be a court case at some point in the future which might affect the tenancy.

If you stay in the property beyond the end of the fixed term then you will need to give the contractually agreed notice (or 1 month if not contractually agreed) to end the tenancy.  The law on this is quite settled and the landlord should be able to successfully sue you if you fail to do so.  The S21 has no effect on this whatsoever.

In reality most landlords who have issued a S21 are open to negotiation with the respect to the end of the tenancy as if they have issued a S21 then they want their property back and making it hard for the tenant to give it back to them is not in their interest.

Do you have any evidence with respect to the utilities issue, both of the agreement and the costs you might have incurred?  If you do then bear in mind that if the landlord does pursue you for money then you can counterclaim for those costs.

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I am afraid things have gotten quite bitter due to the energy situation so I don't think negotiation is an option. We became aware of it because their relative was coming to their side of their house on the weekends and doing large amounts of laundry and drying. It has sent our electric bill through the roof. We have evidence of their car being here when the smart meter has been double, sometimes triple our normal daily usage. We confronted them about this over email and this is where they said they wanted us out.

Basically they don't like that we caught them out stealing our electricity/gas even though when we moved in they categorically stated that the meters were for our side of the house only. 

DE_612183

So that £5k is what they pay and you don't?

c1995

DE_612183 said:

So that £5k is what they pay and you don't?

Yes but our tenancy agreement is stated to include gardening, council tax, water & parking 

Tiglet2

Most tenancy agreements wouldn't include council tax, water or parking.

iza_belle1

This sounds a bit dodgy. Surely the property should include separate billing for council tax,utilities etc? How is it divided in two? 

RAS

Bizarre, as you are legally liable for the Council Tax unless you are a lodger. Just possible the LL could drop you in it by informing the Council, but then they might face "empty" property tax instead. And the re-valuing of the whole into two CT accounts.

Your other issue is the deposit. Normally this is held by the scheme who determine any deductions as long as you dispute any with which you disagree.

With the insurance scheme, the LL holds the money and if they don't like the deductions, they can just refuse to refund the money. You then have to take them to court to get it back. So make absolutely sure that the place is returned exactly as received less wear and tear and document it in detail. Letter before action etc and maybe drop in a mention of the gas safety cert.

iza_belle1

Wonder if they had planning permission to divide the house into two properties. Have they informed the council/their lender etc. Single billing for council tax and utilities seems a red flag

c1995

For the benefit of anyone in the same situation as me, tenancy deposit scheme took our side and we had our deposit returned in full. You are able to leave on the last day of a fixed term tenancy, as long as there isn't a contractual periodic tenancy after the fixed term.