Hello
i have been living in this damp-ridden flat for 2 years. The assured shorthold tenancy has rolled into periodic. I pay my rent every 19th of the month
Having found another flat, with proper windows!, i have given my notice on the 19/11. My landlady has said I should have given it on the 18th, and therefore now I am liable for rent until 19/01!! Surely not. Not only do I have to secure the other flat- contact signing is tomorrow! with deposit and first month rent, but I certainly can’t afford to pay two rents at the same time!
Besides, the notice period is 1 month, it can’t become 2! The rent period, in a periodic tenancy, is 1 month; notice can’t be more than the rent period. It’s like saying, you rent for a year, but your notice is one year and a month…!
As the flat is damp, and rain drips in, from the ceiling (there is a skylight) etc… she is clearly trying to be covered by rent through the winter, because she’s not likey to rent it when it rains.
i have proposed that the tenancy ends one day later. I can pay for one extra DAY, but not a MONTH!
How can I argue this by citing legislation. rulings, i.e. with a legally-standing argument?
I have had the courtesy to let her know that I will be physically leaving the flat in 2 weeks, so basically she’s covered for half a month when the flat is empty and free for the agent to access 24/7 from then on.
I could, of course, involve an Environmental Health Officer, and then she’d be in trouble,Plus no check has been done in two years on the boiler. I have spent substantial money on a dehumidifier, an air purifier, many fans (they are on 24/7, so they die, after a while), wall filler (as what she calls ‘a little bit of condensation’ behind the toilet is a rotten wall),the floor is uneven, so there can be no proper furniture for one’s clothes, and the chest of drawers that was in, kept falling, on one occasion, on me; the window had no curtain, which I believe, is a legal requirement, that the landlord should provide it; i have improved the outside, by fighting with the council to remove an obsolete parking pillar, which was attracting thugs and excrements, etc… but I prefer to just close the matter and go. But I need a solid, enforceable argument
thank you for your help