Thanks Belle, I finally got a reply from shelter today and although there is no clause that says I need to give notice to leave at the end of the fixed term. The clause does say at the end of the fixed term I will go on a contractual periodic tenancy. Apparently that is the key bit as if it said statutory periodic then I wouldn’t need to give notice but apparently a contractual periodic requires 4 weeks notice even before the end of the fixed term. Seems bizarre to me as I’m unsure how a layman is ever supposed to know the difference if it doesn’t say. I didn’t know statutory existed until they told me. Very bizzare as so many places say you don’t need to give notice at end of the fixed term to leave but hey ho. I’m now hoping to go down the route of him forcing me to accept a new tenant in whilst I’m seeing out that notice as technically the property is still mine and he can’t just plug someone in but we shall see!.. Thanks for your help but you don’t have to spend your own time on it! Seems like I might be in the wrong anyway so wouldn’t want it to go to waste! Thanks
Hello,
I wondered if anyone can help me or give some advice. My fixed term contract comes to an end of 1st October after 12 months. I am planning to move out before this and gave my landlord a month’s notice to inform him however he is claiming that I owe rent for October, which is after the fixed term, because the contract says:
You must give the landlord two months notice in writing commencing on the 1st of the month after notice has been given to terminate this agreement under any clauses or additional provisions within this agreement both during as well as after the end of the fixed term.
I don’t understand this though, because I’m not terminating the agreement. It says I only had the room for 12 months and I’ve seen that through to the end of the 12 months without a break clause or anything.
Hi Rebecca, have you read the comments in this thread? This question has come up several times and I think the answers should be above, particularly here:
Sam
Hi,
Is it possible to change the the notice period given from one month to 2 months once the fixed contract has expired and rolled over into a periodic tenancy? And if so will a mutual agreement between the landlord and tenant suffice if done via e-mail for example?
Thanks
2 posts were split to a new topic: One person will be soon to leave with the other three wishing to remain
Hope I can get help on this:
I signed a fixed term for 12 months from 03/03/2020 untl 02/03/2021.
I gave notice to the Agent of the Landlord on 02/02/2021 to vacate the property after that date.
The Agent replied that I need to give 2 months notice, therefore I will have to leave on 02/04/2021.
My AST is a fixed term until 02/03/2021 so I should not be paying any rent after that date (am I correct?)
The contract says :
“The Landlord and the Tenant agree that if either party wishes to terminate this Agreement on or after 02/09/2020 (six months after the start date of contract) and not less than two months’ notice in writing is given to that effect (‘the Notice’) then on expiry of the Notice the Term shall end but this does not cancel any outstanding obligations which either party owes to the other”
What legal contractual obligation they can show that ties me into contract post March 2nd ?
The Agent is probably wrong, but how wrong depends on whether this tenancy becomes contractual periodic. What does the agreement say happens when the fixed term ends. If its something like “the tenancy will continue on a monthly basis” or similar words that indicate it will continue as a CPT, then you would have to serve notice. The standard notice is 1 month expiring at the end of a tenancy period, so your notice should be fine. Its possible that the agent could threaten to sue you for the extra month, but its likely they would lose as clauses requiring 2 months notice are deemed unfair in most contracts.
If the agreement just says that the tenancy ends at the end of the fixed term, then you are not required to give notice at all. You can just leave before midnight on 2 March without penalty. The agent would not be able to compel you to pay more.
Hi David122,
Thanks a lot for your reply,
The agreement doesn’t really specify what happens when the fixed terms ends.
At the beginning, under the particulars of the contract, it only specifies:
TERM: A fixed term of 12 months from 03/03/2020 until 02/03/2021
The Landlord and the Tenant agree that if either party wishes to terminate this Agreement on or after 02/09/2020 and not less than two months’ notice in writing is given to that effect (‘the Notice’) then on expiry of the Notice the Term shall end but this does not cancel any outstanding obligations which either party owes to the other
Under the “end of tenancy” clause, it just says:
"
(52) At the Term or earlier if the tenancy comes to an end more quickly:
(a) to assist the Landlord in checking the Inventory and examining the condition of the Property;
(b) to return to the Landlord all keys to the Property (including any new keys cut during the tenancy);
"
The Agent just assumes that I should have given two months notice before the end of the fixed term.
What happens if the Agent (not a physical office, just an online agent) doesn’t come and take my keys on the 02/03/2021?
Kind regards
There will be a clause that documents at the end of the term it continues into a …periodic
That is the clause that is being referred to
eg ‘The Term’: the term of 6 MONTHS including any extension or continuation or any statutory periodic tenancy which may arise at the end of it;
or
At the end of the Term the Tenancy will continue on as a periodic tenancy on a week by week basis subject to the notice period in clause 13.
If there really is no clause stating that the tenancy will continue after the fixed term ends the you are entitled to reply to the agent stating that you are not required to give notice to end a fixed term tenancy which ends automatically through the effluxion of time. Furthermore, the clause in the tenancy agreement requiring notice in this circumstance will almost certainly be regarded by a court as an unfair contract term under consumer rights legislation.
I have a situation where I gave my tenants two months notice on their rolling contract, which they accepted. They then came back to me a few weeks later and said that they’d found somewhere and they were giving me a months notice that they were moving out sooner than the date I had given them in their notice period. This confused me because I had already given them notice. I told them that they could move out whenever they like but that they would still be liable for the rent up until the last day of the notice period I gave them. They have come back and said that it doesn’t matter that I gave notice first that they are only required to give me ones months notice without being liable for rent as long as it was within the two months notice period I gave them. Please could you clarify if I’m correct in assuming that since I gave them notice first they need to follow my notice period and if they move out sooner they are still liable for rent. If I am correct where can I find proof online that this is the case so I can direct them to it? I’d be grateful for your advice.
Can you post the clause in your contract so we can see what it says?
What does it read regarding tenant serving notices to you?
In the contract it says: ‘If by mutual agreement the tenants are still in residence after 12 months and either party wishes to end the agreement, the tenant must give the landlord 1 months notice or the landlord must give the tenants 2 months notice.’
Your tenant only has to give a months notice
You may want to edit your future contract so it is two months notice for both parties
Yes I understand they are only required to give me 1 months notice but that would only be if they gave me notice first. But I thought if I gave them notice first that it was my notice period that needed to be followed and that once I gave them notice they can’t themselves give me notice as I gave it first. Am I incorrect?
tenants win . Do not give a reference if unhappy with conduct
In honesty I cannot answer that legally. I see what you are saying but your clause does not read like that is just reads the notice period. On the face of that clause they have given you one month as per contract. They usurped your period of notification by giving their own notice thus saving themselves a months rent.
The reality is if they didn’t leave in 2 months you would have to serve an eviction notice and wait until they leave.
I agree with Colin3 on this. I would be grateful they are leaving rather than argue over a month.
If you ask the NRLA they may be able to give you the legal stand on it.
Thanks for your replies.
Don’t know your dates but because of Covid thought a landlord had to give six months notice.
You clearly wanted rid as you served notice on them first, so I too, would just be glad they were going.