Ending periodic tenancy, no electrical safety check and damp

JadieH

Hi all, please can anyone advise on ending a periodic tenancy (I have checked the pinned thread and wasn't entirely clear it answered my query). 
I had a shorthold for 6 months a few years ago and following this it became a periodic tenancy with me paying rent monthly on the 24th, in advance. If I want to give notice to end the tenancy now, can I give one months notice and only pay rent to cover that period, or must it cover the rest of the month up to the 23rd? I.E. If I give notice today, on 13/08, for the last day of the tenancy to be 13/09, when I normally pay rent on 24/08 can I calculate it to cover just up to 13/09 or do I need to pay the normal amount to cover up to 23/09? 

Next, is there any implications of no electrical safety certificate? I've been at the property 9-10 years, so before the 2020 legislation. Landlord tried to arrange one last week but the electrician could not access parts he needed to because they were boxed over so will have to return. Landlord has not answered my question about the date of the last check. 
(Electrician is due to come back out to complete check but already expressed concerns to me about the amount of damp around one wall socket). 

Finally, anyone know of any resources or info about claiming compensation for damp? Its a privately rented property, lots of evidence over the years of communication with landlord reminding them of the issue, a survey report and little action by the landlord. At minimum I would be looking for the cost of my furniture and upholstery that has been ruined to be refunded. 

Thanks for any info

PRAISETHESUN

JadieH said:

Hi all, please can anyone advise on ending a periodic tenancy (I have checked the pinned thread and wasn't entirely clear it answered my query). 
I had a shorthold for 6 months a few years ago and following this it became a periodic tenancy with me paying rent monthly on the 24th, in advance. If I want to give notice to end the tenancy now, can I give one months notice and only pay rent to cover that period, or must it cover the rest of the month up to the 23rd? I.E. If I give notice today, on 13/08, for the last day of the tenancy to be 13/09, when I normally pay rent on 24/08 can I calculate it to cover just up to 13/09 or do I need to pay the normal amount to cover up to 23/09? 

Next, is there any implications of no electrical safety certificate? I've been at the property 9-10 years, so before the 2020 legislation. Landlord tried to arrange one last week but the electrician could not access parts he needed to because they were boxed over so will have to return. Landlord has not answered my question about the date of the last check. 
(Electrician is due to come back out to complete check but already expressed concerns to me about the amount of damp around one wall socket). 

Finally, anyone know of any resources or info about claiming compensation for damp? Its a privately rented property, lots of evidence over the years of communication with landlord reminding them of the issue, a survey report and little action by the landlord. At minimum I would be looking for the cost of my furniture and upholstery that has been ruined to be refunded. 

Thanks for any info

It'll depend on the wording in your TA - the default is the statutory periodic tenancy, which means you need to give one full rental period's notice (ie. if you gave notice today it would need to end on 23 Sep) . If there's anything in your TA to specify otherwise then those terms will be the ones you need to work.

Can't help with either of the other questions, but I'm sure someone else will know.

motorman99

If the damp was that bad why didn’t you move? 

saajan_12

JadieH said:

Hi all, please can anyone advise on ending a periodic tenancy (I have checked the pinned thread and wasn't entirely clear it answered my query). 
I had a shorthold for 6 months a few years ago and following this it became a periodic tenancy with me paying rent monthly on the 24th, in advance. If I want to give notice to end the tenancy now, can I give one months notice and only pay rent to cover that period, or must it cover the rest of the month up to the 23rd? I.E. If I give notice today, on 13/08, for the last day of the tenancy to be 13/09, when I normally pay rent on 24/08 can I calculate it to cover just up to 13/09 or do I need to pay the normal amount to cover up to 23/09? 

You still have an AST, just as a periodic contract. You need to read the last contract you had, specifically for any terms defining a (contractual) periodic tenancy. If so, those are the terms that apply. If none, then you're on a Statutory Periodic Tenancy, whereby notice is 1 tenancy period, ie 24th -> 23rd of the next month. Rent periods would not be divisble, so your last payment would be 24 Aug (covering up to 23 Sep) in full and nothing due back. 

JadieH said:

Next, is there any implications of no electrical safety certificate? I've been at the property 9-10 years, so before the 2020 legislation. Landlord tried to arrange one last week but the electrician could not access parts he needed to because they were boxed over so will have to return. Landlord has not answered my question about the date of the last check. 
(Electrician is due to come back out to complete check but already expressed concerns to me about the amount of damp around one wall socket). 

Not that benefits you. There may be repercussions if the LL was trying to evict you, but if you're trying to leave then no effect. 

JadieH said:

Finally, anyone know of any resources or info about claiming compensation for damp? Its a privately rented property, lots of evidence over the years of communication with landlord reminding them of the issue, a survey report and little action by the landlord. At minimum I would be looking for the cost of my furniture and upholstery that has been ruined to be refunded. 

Thanks for any info

Not sure you have a claim here - your right is to force the LL to act by reporting in writing, then following through the Shelter process to escalate this and ultimately get the fixes done, deducting the actual cost incurred from rent. Again that doesn't benefit you in terms of compo. 
The process, if you wanted to try, would just be a court claim for damages because they failed to act and caused FURTHER damage to your furniture, but this is uncertain since your tenancy doesnt' GUARANTEE a damp free property and you could have escalated it to a conclusion earlier. 

JadieH

Thank you both re ending the tenancy, the last TA signed states the "periodic tenancy can be ended by giving at least one month's written notice.... the notice to expire at the end of the rental period" so I assume this meant the end of the tenancy month i.e. it will be the 23rd of September. 

Also thanks Saajan for answering the others. Frustrating that it's down to the tenant to constantly chase up everything (we did) and take the hit. Unfortunately we were too trusting every time the landlord promised to make changes and it's been further complicated by the involvement of a building management company as the management and landlord disagreed with who was responsible. Unfortunately in the UK tenants are not well protected.