When to give notice to end tenancy when buying?

chssvl · 13 January 2018 at 10:18AM

My current tenancy agreement goes until November of this year. As per the tenancy agreement, I need to give a two month advance notice before ending the agreement.

I’m currently in the process of looking for a place to buy but I am unsure about when it would be best to give this notice. Should it be once my offer is accepted or is it better to wait until contracts are actually exchanged?

Ideally I’d like to avoid having to pay rent and a mortgage at the same time but I also want to avoid ending up without a place to live!

One addiotinal question. My contract started on the 1st of November and therefore pay on the 1st of each month. If, for example, I give notice mid February, would that mean that I would only have to pay 1.5 months of rent (i.e. whole of march and half of April) or would I still be expected to pay another two full months?

Thanks!

anselld · 13 January 2018 at 10:29AM

Do not give notice until exchange of contracts.

Are you saying you are in a fixed term until 31 October? And you have a break clause allowing 2 months notice? In which case read the break clause terms in detail.

00ec25 · 13 January 2018 at 10:36AM

chssvl wrote: »

My current tenancy agreement goes until November of this year. As per the tenancy agreement, I need to give a two month advance notice before ending the agreement.

I’m currently in the process of looking for a place to buy but I am unsure about when it would be best to give this notice. Should it be once my offer is accepted or is it better to wait until contracts are actually exchanged?

Ideally I’d like to avoid having to pay rent and a mortgage at the same time that will be almost impossible to achieve but I also want to avoid ending up without a place to live! then do not give notice before exchange otherwise you could be

One addiotinal question. My contract started on the 1st of November and therefore pay on the 1st of each month. If, for example, I give notice mid February, would that mean that I would only have to pay 1.5 months of rent (i.e. whole of march and half of April) or would I still be expected to pay another two full months?

Thanks!

are you sure you really understand you tenancy contract?

what you have written is very far from how one would normally operate

if it started on 1 Nov 2017 and you say it lasts for 1 year (so to 30 October 2018 (not "goes until November" as that would be more than 12 months long) then unless the contract specifically contains a "break clause" you have a fixed term 1 year contract that cannot be ended by you alone

if there is no "break clause", you can ask your LL if he will allow you to go early, he may agree, and he may impose whatever financial penalties he wants as part of that agreement.

the date you pay your rent has nothing to do with the date you need to use for your notice - if you are allowed to give notice, as that is uncertain yet. until we know what notice you are giving no one can say how much rent you'll still need to pay, but it would never ever be 1.5 months as you think above

theartfullodger · 13 January 2018 at 10:38AM

You can go any time up like - eg 15:47 this afternoon - but are liable for the rent to the end of the fixed term , unless there's a break clause. Is there?

chssvl · 13 January 2018 at 10:44AM

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry, should have been clearer. The contract was signed in November 2016 and it does have an explicit break clause. The exact wording of the clause is as follows:

“It is further agreed that the Tenant may bring this agreement to an end subject to a minimum term of SIX MONTHS by giving the Landlord not less than TWO MONTHS written notice to end the tenancy any time after the SIXTH MONTH.”

There is another clause which also gives the LL the same terms.

Given that it’s been more than six months since the agreement started, I am assuming that I just need to worry about the two months notice.

As a side note, before knowing that we’re thinking about buying, the LL told us that he’s thinking of selling but hasn’t actually started the process.

anselld · 13 January 2018 at 10:54AM

That is still insufficient information.
How long was the initial fixed term which started in Nov 2016?
Has it been renewed since that term expired?
If it has expired and not been renewed, are there any contractual terms stating what happens after expiry of the fixed term?

00ec25 · 13 January 2018 at 10:54AM

ok so the break clause is explicit (and identical for both sides so is "fair")

as it says notice can be served from any date you want. Technically the law says a rental period, which in your case is 1st of month to last of month, is "indivisible" so how much rent the LL wants if you do not serve notice on the 1st is a matter for his discretion. He may agree to pro rate it to align with your last day, or he may not.

chssvl · 13 January 2018 at 10:59AM

Thanks again. I’ve been at this place since Nov 2014. We did a one-year contract the first year, renewed it for another year in Nov 2015 and then did a two year contract in Nov of 2016. All three tenancy agreements had this same identical clause.

CommitedToChange · 13 January 2018 at 11:21AM

You will have an overlap on mortgage and rent so be sure to factor that into your costs - and depending on how the sale goes it could be the full two months. When you have found a place make sure you state that you want several weeks between exchange and completion, but this may not happen if you are in a chain and have to work with everyone to find suitable dates. An 8 week gap also seems very unlikely. Plus you have time to move and clean the rental before handing keys back which takes the pressure off.

Do NOT give notice before you exchange - sales fall through or get delayed all the time, and you don't want to find yourself homeless. If I had given notice when I was told we were going to exchange on the 15th Dec (sols have my deposit money and everything) I would now be homeless. Issues suddenly happened as we have still not exchanged.

juniordoc · 13 January 2018 at 11:22AM

We managed to have a period of only 8 days overlap between our rented place and the flat we purchased. We specified that we needed at least 3 weeks between exchange and completion so we had certainty we would move but weren't liable for the mortgage until completion.
We also took a bit of a gamble and gave notice on our rental 4 or 5 days before we did exchange (but were pretty sure we would do so), knowing that our letting agency were unlikely to advertise and find new tenants in that short a space of time.

anselld · 13 January 2018 at 11:47AM

chssvl wrote: »

Thanks again. I’ve been at this place since Nov 2014. We did a one-year contract the first year, renewed it for another year in Nov 2015 and then did a two year contract in Nov of 2016. All three tenancy agreements had this same identical clause.

In that case the break clause applies. Give two months notice the date you exchange and live with the overlap.

Or leave on 31st October without notice if it takes that long.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

When to give notice to end tenancy when buying?

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