I’m a landlord and the current contract expires on 03/03/25
i gave tenants 2 months notice via section 21 . The date asks them to leave by 04/04/25
Tenants want to leave at the end of the current contract 03/03/25 .
I assume they can and do not need to give their notice of 4 weeks (assuming they do it today it’ll mean 11/03/25 as if they do it’s deemed as an unfair term to require notice to leave at the end of a tenancy, so they are free to leave on 03/03/2025?
Tenancy agreement states the below
Notice to end the tenancy at or after the end of the Initial Term
12.2. If either party wishes to end the tenancy on or after the final day of the Initial Term, they may give notice in writing to the other as follows:
• The Landlord must give notice of no less than two months, such notice to expire any time on or after the final day of the Initial Term. A notice served by the Landlord under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 shall be sufficient notice under this clause.
• The Tenant must give notice of no less than one month, such notice to expire the day before a Rent Payment Day or on the final day of the Initial Term.
This has been mentioned on the MSE forum but if your fixed term ends on 3rd March, the tenants can vacate on 3rd March with nothing left to pay. They don’t need to give you a months notice from today, they just need to make sure they are out by 3rd March.
IF the tenants miss that date and end up not getting out until 4th March, then technically they have entered a new rent period and have extended the tenancy so would need to vacate by the S.21 you have issued (and pay rent until the date on your S.21).
That said, the tenants have agreed to move following your S.21 do I don’t understand why you’re kicking up a stink about a few days. Just let them leave on 3rd March and consider the matter ended.
Gazfocus, the tenant cant just leave at the end of the tenancy with no notice because this is a contractual periodic tenancy, not a fixed term tenancy and they are bound by the contractual terms. However, as Karl says, the landlord can let them leave whenever it suits them but should cover themselves usibg a deed of surrender on the final day.
Interested to know what makes you think it’s a contractual periodic tenancy when the OP says the current term ends on 3/3/2025. To me it sounds as though it is a fixed term tenancy rather than a periodic one and if that’s the case, the tenant can leave without notice at the end of the fixed term.
Its partly the use of the phrase “initial term” rather than fixed term in the contract, but mostly that fact that it states that notice is required to end the contract on the last day. Its possible that this is a contract error, but it seems too professionally drafted for that, so on balance I believe that its a CPT.
What makes me think it’s a fixed term rather than a periodic is that is has a specified end date. There would usually be a term that says if the tenant remains in the property past the end date, the tenant will be entering a periodic tenancy but the initial term doesn’t seem to have expired here as the end date has not passed.
The tenancy agreement our last letting agent used had a similar clause that the tenant must give one month notice to terminate the tenancy, though such a term is likely unenforceable as long as the tenant vacates prior to the start of a new term.
Initial terms of CPTs can be longer than the subsequent terms and would have an end date. There should be another clause that says something about what happens if the tenant remains past the initial term, but we dont have it here.
If it were a fixed term then the clause about notice being required to end the tenancy on the last day would be erroneous or at least an unfair contract term. I just doubt that whoever drafted the agreement didnt know that.
Given their new tenancy they’re leaving on the 15/03/24
Now with regards to the payment between 03-03-24 (to where their last rent payment was up to) and 15/03/24 is rent due on a pro data basis or do they cover the whole month?
Mutual Break Clause
12.6. The Initial Term of this tenancy agreement may be terminated by either party giving the other at leas onths notice in writing, such notice not to expire until at least & months after the start of the Term. A n erved by the Landlord under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 shall be sufficient notice under this cl
The Tenant is obliged to pay rent up to and including the termination date, so if the tenancy is terminated date which is not the last day of a rental period, the rent due for any incomplete rental periods will be apportioned accordingly.
I was confused as I wasn’t sure if the rent was due by the 3rd of the month, does that mean it covers the period from 3rd of month to 2nd of next month? Or is that just the due date for the rent payment that covers the calendar month? E.g., is the rental period 3rd of month through 2nd of following month? Or monthly?
If the latter. If so, then the rent due up through March 15 is 15/30 days, so 50% of the monthly rent: .
On the other hand, if the rent payment actually covers from the 3rd until the 2nd of the following month, then you they would owe for 13 days of March, or 13/30 of your monthly rent
Contract states - A fixed term of 12 months
Commencing on and including 03 March 2024
To and including 02 March 2025 (“the Initial Term”)
And then continuing as a monthly contractual periodic tenancy until terminated in accordance with this agreement
payable in advance on or before the 3rd day of each month (a “Rent Payment Day”)
The Tenant is obliged to pay rent up to and including the termination date, so if the tenancy is terminated date which is not the last day of a rental period, the rent due for any incomplete rental periods will be apportioned accordingly.
If the tenancy started on 3rd and the rent is due on 3rd, why on earth do you think the rent would cover from 1st?
Your tenants rent covers from 3rd to 2nd so if you allow your tenants to leave on 15th, they will owe you 13 days rent so the easiest way to calculate it would be to divide your months rent by the number of days between 3rd March and 2nd April (31 days) and then multiply that number by 13th. That will be the rent due.