My tenants’ 12 months’ tenancy contract is coming to an end soon.
They did not give me a notice, but they verbally told me they will get a property in a month’s time and they want to move out.
I am ok if they move out without giving me written notice.
Is notice from the tenants mandatory to end the tenancy and return their deposit?
With fixed term tenancies they just have to move out by the final day.
Also- they verbally gave you notice. If you didn’t tell them that you require written notice as well then you’re being a jerk. Tenant’s shouldn’t be required to be legal experts in tenancy law. They verbally gave you one month’s notice and then it was on you to remind them they need to put it in writing if that’s what you wanted.
Ryan42 is correct that no notice is required with a tenancy that is not or does not become a contractual periodic tenancy. You should probably check the wording of you contract to see what it says about what happens to the tenancy at the end of the fixed term.
Regarding the lease wording- Keep in mind that leases aren’t always upheld in the court if they’re found to be unfair.
If they’ve been good tenants who paid on time and kept the property well and have now verbally given you notice, it may not be worth a legal battle over the deposit on a technicality.
You’ve been given notice and if they’re facilitating viewings then it’s just a dick move to try to exploit a technicality and I hope they make you fight for it.
George123, I just re-read your post and see that another concern may be whether you should return the deposit when you are not clear that the tenancy has ended. Although the tenants don’t have to give you notice to end a fixed term tenancy, they should confirm that they have left and that their tenancy has ended if you ask them to.
Note that you said you are happy with verbal notice but would advise you to confirm this back to them in email so you have written evidence of this conversation.
Before you return the deposit, as David said make sure they have actually left, they have returned the keys and do a check out inspection in case of any damages etc.
There are many things in the agreements the tenants take no notice of but if a LL is naughty - well !!!
I checked the tenancy wording.
It goes like this -
“The tenancy shall be from and including the 14th day of January 2020 to and including the 13the day of January 2021 and thereafter from month-to-month and until terminated by either party serving a notice on the other in accordance with this agreement.”
Also there is a clause that the landlord should give 2 months’ written notice and tenant should give 1 month’s written notice.
There are 3 tenants in the tenancy agreement (single AST).
One of them found a new accommodation. So, she wants to move out.
After the 13th Jan 2021, the other two of them will be continuing also a new person will be joining. All new people will be again on a single AST.
Both me and the tenants are happy for the change and the new tenancy creation.
But, by law am I supposed to ask them to give me the notice in writing just because it is in the tenancy agreement?
Thanks
TBH, I’m not sure of the law in this area and I would be pleased if someone corrected me, but what I’ve previously done in this situation is to confirm in writing to all the tenants that the tenancy is ending because they have requested it in line with the contract terms and that a new tenancy will be offered to those remaining. I always confirm everything in writing (by email in fact as the contract allows for that) because it’s easy for people to forget what they actually said or thought they had.
Yes, one option would be that they serve you Notice to Quit to end the day before the new tenancy begins. They would all have to sign it and as the notice would ordinarily be invalid, you would have to accept it in writing, which will make it valid. Alternatively, they and you could sign a deed of surrender on the day the new tenancy begins, with a witness. This might be harder to organise though as the tenant may by then have left.
You should treat this as a real end of tenancy and do a checkout inspection so that any damage can be claimed against the existing deposit. You should also then refund the balance of the deposit and take a new deposit when you start the new tenancy, which will be a whole new tenancy with all the attendant paperwork.
You are entitled to claim any costs you incur in this process from the existing tenants, (realistically probably the outgoing person), but you can’t claim more than your costs.
What happens if your tenancy runs out and a new one didn’t get written up where does that leave u if you wanna move out etc
That leaves you still a tenant and still liable for the rent I’m afraid. Once the tenancy becomes periodic, you can serve notice on your own and that will end the tenancy for all tenants.
I only ask as my last contact said I had to give 3 months notice which is insane but my tenancy ran out over 6 months ago would this still be the case
I’d suggest you seek legal advice to help you understand your lease and what kind of periodic tenancy has been created to ensure you give notice properly.
If you consider the notice period insane, then you should either negotiate it or find a more sane rental agreement instead of putting yourself in a risky situation.
Why would you not. They obviously have been good tenants and you was infirmed 1 month in advance. There seems to be a lot of them and us on this forum sometimes. I have never had problems with my tenants since I took control of who I rent to. They are people just like us living ordinary lives making the usual mistakes but generally good decent people. I keep in touch and ensure any problems are sorted imnediately. One months notice verbally or written is no big deal. I always back it up with a text back to them and ask for acknowledgement of its content. Its only a problem if you make it one. I would never withold their deposit without a very good reason.
That may have been an unfair contract term and therefore unenforceable, but it might depend on the type of contract you had.
It was a year contract that ended 6 months ago no new one was written up so im guessing I’ll need to find out if it still stands 3 months notice
If it was unenforceable in the first place it’ll absolutely be unenforceable in the periodic tenancy.
I am happy with the verbal notice they gave me over the phone if there is no legal issue. I am not planning to deduct any money from their deposit.
The AST says they should give me a written notice.
But, the tenant wants to move out as soon as the new accommodation is ready.
I need to start the new tenancy with the remaining tenants (husband, wife, their child and another friend of them).
As far as I am aware the local council is ok with upto 4 unrelated people living in the property without HMO license.
There’s no legal issue to you both agreeing to end the tenancy early. You also aren’t legally obligated to deduct any money from the deposit- that option exists to protect you from loss.