Hello! So my short hold tenancy agreement (which was 12 months) is due to end 3rd March. I haven’t signed a renewal, nor been contacted about it. So I understand that my tenancy will turn into a periodic tenancy as of 4th March. I’ve been offered a great opportunity and would like to leave end March. Can I give my months notice during my short hold tenancy? Or do I need to wait and give it on the first day of my periodic? (4th March)
So basically can I give notice on 28th feb to leave on 28th March? (So giving notice Still under the assured short hold tenancy but leaving after the short hold tenancy has ended/turned it periodic)
Does the tenancy mention contractual periodic tenancy?
If not - technically you don’t have to give any notice and can just leave as long as you’re out by the final day. This is a bit rude obviously, it’s better to give the one month’s notice.
If it mentions contractual periodic then you definitely should give one month’s notice to be safe.
In the latter situation, you may want to give it a day or two in advance - sometimes tenants can get confused about what day they have to give notice on and some landlords are jerks who’ll use this to justify charging a whole nother month, and they’re technically in the right.
Thanks Ryan- the contract doesn’t mention anything about periodic . And I don’t want to leave when the short hold ends. I need to be here a little while longer. I was just wondering if I was able to give my notice during the short hold to be able to leave within the first periodic. Or do I need to wait until the first day of the periodic to be able to give my one months notice. I really I want to leave on 1st April. So would like to give notice on 1st March- but my short hold doesn’t end until 3rd March. Does that make sense?
If it actually is 3rd March and you want to be out by April 1 - to me two days isn’t worth quibbling over, and it can be helpful to have a bit of wiggle room when moving, so I’d just give notice to end 3rd April.
You can let the landlord know you intend to be out by the 1st, but then if there’s any delays or hiccups you have two extra days to resolve it.
Make sure you document the state of the property as you’re leaving. Take photos/video showing the state.
If it were a case of wanting to move March 18- then it can be slightly messy, depending on how the landlord is. You have to still pay 15 days rent (take the monthly payment and divide by 31 to get daily) on the day you usually pay rent (I assume 3rd March). So let’s say you pay 310/month rent, you would have to pay 150.
The landlord may argue you have to pay for the full month, and I’m not sure if there’s anything in a lease that could make that happen.
So unless your tenancy agreement gives you more favourable terms, the legal position is that you can either leave without notice on or before the last day of the fixed term, or you can serve notice from the second day of the periodic tenancy, (not the first). This means that you are committed until 3rd May because your notice would have to be a minimum of one month ending on the first or last day of a tenancy period. I’m guessing that neither of those options are particular attractive, so I suggest you try to negotiate something that both you and the landlord can live with.