tenancy woes :(

fly53 · 27 November 2017 at 3:42PM

hi guys i posted earlier, to some great advice

im now having some tenancy woes myself

i was lead to believe that my tenancy was a 12 month tenancy with 8 month break clause giving two months notice for the clause(?)

c.a.b agree that my tenancy which started on the 25th august can be served notice on the 25th feb 2018 to vacate in april 2018

the letting agent is saying otherwise
theyre saying its 12 month tenancy with two months notice, ie 10 months instead of 8.

im not happy at this place and wish to vacate in april.

can anyone shed some much needed light on this clause?

please see below,

many thanks to you.

break clause:

the landlord shall be entiled to serve upon the tenant statutory notice of not less than two caleneder months pursuant to section 21 of the housing act 1988 to break this tenancy. such notice:
4.1.1
may not be served during the first four months and shall not expire before the end of the eight month of the term.

4.1.2
shall be given to expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy and be served in writing

4.1.3
shell be served in accordance with the attached terms and conditions

4.2
the tentant shall be entitled to terminate this tenancy by giving not less than two calander months notice to break this tenancy provided that such notice:
4.2.1 shall not expire before the eight month of the term
4.2.2 will expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy and shall be given in writing.
4.2.3 shall be served in accordance with the attached terms and conditiosn
4.2.4 this clause replaces or amends any relavent clauses within the attached tenancy terms and conditiosn inpparticular part four clause 1.2
4.3
the tenant acknowleges that should notice of termination in accordance with 4.2 be issued it cannot be recinded

regards

fly53 · 27 November 2017 at 3:44PM

so is my tenancy 8 months or ten using the clause?

thanks

Slithery · 27 November 2017 at 4:05PM

You and the CAB are correct, It's all there in black and white.

4.2
the tentant shall be entitled to terminate this tenancy by giving not less than two calander months notice to break this tenancy provided that such notice:
4.2.1 shall not expire before the eight month of the term

You can give notice at any time before the 24th Feb to end the tenancy on the 24th Apr.

00ec25 · 27 November 2017 at 4:06PM

fly53 wrote: »

so is my tenancy 8 months or ten using the clause?

thanks

LOL, no, you have a 12 month fixed term tenancy as your tenancy commended 25 Aug 17 and ends 12 months later on 24 Aug 2018

as ever with break clauses the words are imprecise as "shall not expire before the eight month of the term" is open to some interpretation since "before" could mean months 1 - 7 or it could mean months 1 - 8. Taking the latter interpretation, you cannot end the tenancy during the first 8 months (4.2.1) which means not before 24 April 2018. You can do so 1 second later, on 25th April 2018.

BUT your notice must expire on the last day of a tenancy period, so it cannot expire on 24th april as that is the last day of the 8th month nor can it expire on 25th April as that is the first day of the 9th period. So you would need to give notice which expires on 24th May 2018 to meet the criteria of clause 4.2.2.

Your notice must be given 2 calendar months in advance of expiry (clause 4.2) so will need to be served no later than 24th March 2018

other people will doubtless have a different interpretation ... it all comes down to the meaning of "before month 8"

fly53 · 27 November 2017 at 5:28PM

Thanks very much.
im very green on this issue.

So i can give two months notice on feb 25th to vacate on 25th april?

Many thanks.

G_M · 27 November 2017 at 6:48PM

Well to throw another spanner in th works, I take issue witth clause 4.2.2

will expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy

There is only one period in this tenancy. It commenced on 25th August 2017 and the 'period' (or Term) of the tenancy ends on 24th august 2018.

The landlord probably intended to write

will expire on the last day of a rental period of the tenancy

fly53 · 27 November 2017 at 7:14PM

Well provided i can vacate before the 25th august im happy.

piemash · 27 November 2017 at 9:38PM

Hi all,
I've just received a similar contract to Fly53. I've been renting a few years and have previously received a 12 month contract with the option of a 2 month break at any time. The letting agent claims they've had to introduce a minimum 6 month period for renewals "due to a change in the law". Everything I've read suggests there hasn't been a minimum rental period since 1997. Are they talking nonsense?

G_M · 27 November 2017 at 11:05PM

piemash wrote: »

Hi all,
I've just received a similar contract to Fly53. I've been renting a few years and have previously received a 12 month contract with the option of a 2 month break at any time. The letting agent claims they've had to introduce a minimum 6 month period for renewals "due to a change in the law". Everything I've read suggests there hasn't been a minimum rental period since 1997. Are they talking nonsense?

There's been no change and there's no minimum period for an AST. Before or since 1997.

But there IS a 6 month minimum before a S21 Notice served by a landlord can expire, meaning no LL can evict in the first 6 months (other than via a S8 eg rent arrerars), though a tenant could leave at the end of, say, a 3 month AST.

However this only applies to an original tenancy, not a renewal.

So there's no reason not to have a renewal of 12 months with a Break Clause that can be implemented at any time. It's a matter of negotiatiion what terms you and tthe landlord agree.

See also:

* 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?

fly53 · 27 November 2017 at 11:13PM

So im back to sqaure one.

I can exit before 12 months but not before 8 including two months notice.

getmore4less · 28 November 2017 at 7:52AM

something can be "less than" "equal" or "greater than"

"not less than" == "equal or greater than".

4.2.1 shall not expire before the eight month of the term

the common sense interpretation of that is to use the inverse of "not expire before" which is must expire on or after.

April 24th is the date.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

tenancy woes :(

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