landlord giving notice to end tenancy.

[Deleted User]

My landlord jacked up my rent from 700 to 900 a couple of months ago.  I had indicated that was quite a leap and wasnt keen on this large increase.  At the time he had suggested i move out and look for cheaper digs if it was a financial burden on me.  We had exchanged emails a bit and he suggested i move out in 2 weeks and that would be fine.  He had "interested parties" that would pay.   I agreed tentatively in a reply, then retracted that because it would have been a pain trying to secure a new place in short order.  So i paid the extra rent for a couple of months.    In the meantime i have decided to move back to the states and firmed up my plans on July 4th and let the landlord know id be moving out at the end of the month (email). A few days go by and no reply. So i text him and get back a brief message "Ok, but we need a months notice"    Now i do understand a periodic month to month requires a months notice, but was that just a landlord !!!!!! move falling back on the tenancy agreement? when just a couple of months ago he was quite keen on me moving out with 2 weeks notice?  This irked me a bit because i have been a good tenant for 3 years and paid up on every due date.    Now i expect he will be chasing the rent for August and im going to be gone before the end of this month.  I have been getting UC towards the rent which gets paid to him directly, but i pay the top up amount to cover the excess.    If this guy moans to the DWP will they immediately take his side and start pulling from my bank? Or will the history of emails show he was willing to be flexible on the tenancy and show me some favour?    I just dont need a random CCJ showing up against me when im not really around to defend it.        

Stubod

...Your notice period will be written the contract that you signed and agreed to. If it's a months notice, then that is what you are liable to pay. 

If you do not honour your contract and the Landlord decides to take you to court, then I would assume you would lose and possibly get a CCJ. 

Everything else you have posted is mainly irrelevant compared to the contract you signd and agreed to.

Emmia

[Deleted User] said:

Stubod said:

...Your notice period will be written the contract that you signed and agreed to. If it's a months notice, then that is what you are liable to pay. 

If you do not honour your contract and the Landlord decides to take you to court, then I would assume you would lose and possibly get a CCJ. 

Everything else you have posted is mainly irrelevant compared to the contract you signd and agreed to.

Yes, i figured that would be the case.  How would i know about any action if im not in the country? Im not coming back this lifetime.  But i will keep a UK bank account for a few months. The landlord is young and not exactly hands on in the communications department.  If there is a court case imminent am i not to be notified or is a judgement reached in my absence?  

Just pay up your months notice, avoiding any risk of CCJ etc. easiest and saves the stress.

Albermarle

Offer him two weeks rent as a compromise. He can only say no, and he might say yes. 

saajan_12

[Deleted User] said:

My landlord jacked up my rent from 700 to 900 a couple of months ago.  I had indicated that was quite a leap and wasnt keen on this large increase.  At the time he had suggested i move out and look for cheaper digs if it was a financial burden on me.  We had exchanged emails a bit and he suggested i move out in 2 weeks and that would be fine.  He had "interested parties" that would pay.   I agreed tentatively in a reply, then retracted that because it would have been a pain trying to secure a new place in short order.  So i paid the extra rent for a couple of months.    In the meantime i have decided to move back to the states and firmed up my plans on July 4th and let the landlord know id be moving out at the end of the month (email). A few days go by and no reply. So i text him and get back a brief message "Ok, but we need a months notice"    Now i do understand a periodic month to month requires a months notice, but was that just a landlord !!!!!! move falling back on the tenancy agreement? when just a couple of months ago he was quite keen on me moving out with 2 weeks notice?  This irked me a bit because i have been a good tenant for 3 years and paid up on every due date.    Now i expect he will be chasing the rent for August and im going to be gone before the end of this month.  I have been getting UC towards the rent which gets paid to him directly, but i pay the top up amount to cover the excess.    If this guy moans to the DWP will they immediately take his side and start pulling from my bank? Or will the history of emails show he was willing to be flexible on the tenancy and show me some favour?    I just dont need a random CCJ showing up against me when im not really around to defend it.        

The fact that he had someone interested to move in one day doesn't mean he will whenever you decide to give notice months later. Its not a 'landlord move' to expect you would stick to the contract unless it was mutually convenient to do something else. The same way that you wanted to stick to the contract and rescinded your 'tentative' leave early when it didn't suit you. 

Ultimately it was your choice to make plans which included moving earlier than you could terminate your tenancy. That was the time to either finalise plans earlier or budget in an extra months rent or delay plans until August. 

If you give formal notice now, you must pay rent until the end of August, though can move out anytime earlier. If you don't, then this will either be deducted from your deposit (if any) or you'll get a CCJ for the amount. Sounds like you'd lose that anyway so doesn't matter if you're not here to defend. 

[Deleted User]

Albermarle said:

Offer him two weeks rent as a compromise. He can only say no, and he might say yes. 

Normally i would but very early on i noticed in my tenancy they charged me from the 1st of May when i moved in around the 25th of May.  So they got a months rent for 6 days of occupancy in May.   DWP started paying them from May 7th in arrears and have been paying ever since.  So i feel i should have some cushion there somewhere. I asked why didnt they just add on the days in May and start the month from June 1. But they kept saying "your tenancy you signed started May 1"    Silly me thinking they would be reasonable and pro rate the 6 days.....not so.  As i said before, they are typical landlords.   

RAS

May which year?????

Did you pay a deposit? Is that secured in a deposit scheme?

RAS

You need to separate the "overpayment" of rent at the start of the tenancy from the "bond". Legally you can't off-set an over payment on A against a deficit on B without the other party's consent. And the law regarding them isn't the same.

You need to find out the exact status of that bond. 

[Deleted User]

RAS said:

You need to separate the "overpayment" of rent at the start of the tenancy from the "bond". Legally you can't off-set an over payment on A against a deficit on B without the other party's consent. And the law regarding them isn't the same.

You need to find out the exact status of that bond. 

Im not sure i understand.  The bond was done through the LHA or local council.   Whats the bond do in relation to me moving out?  Its not my bond right?  It goes back to the local council once the tenancy is over? I have np deposit of my own. I have just paid my top up for 3 years and the UC have paid direct to the LL since day 1.  What status of the bond should i be concerned about?  Can that bite me in the !!!!!!? 

RAS

Thanks.

Since the bond was Council, it is nothing to do with you. Had it been a deposit, not protected, you'd have a lot more leverage.

Ratkin007

A point I like to make which may or may not be worth looking into, is whether the property is required to be licensed under a Selective licensing scheme.  If you look up your Council and Selective licensing it will let you know whether or not they have a scheme.  You will then need to check if the scheme covers your address.  If your Council is running a Selective licensing scheme which covers your address, you can then check whether your landlord has a licence.  they should have a public register, if the addres is not on the register, check with the Council if an application has been submitted.  

If your property is required to be licensed but is not, you can apply for a rent repayment order for up to 12 months  Your Council would be able to assist. If successful, I'm not sure how it would work as you get UC, but you may at least get back the top up you paid. 

Some people believe it is only London Councils or mainly London Councils that do property licensing but that is not the case.  Granted, not all Councils run the schemes, but more and more are starting to do so.