I recently took out a Tenancy for 12 months in a Flat at an over 60s building containing 75 Flats. The tenancy is from the owner of the flat, so I pay her. This was all done through OpenRent - including the Tenancy Agreement.
I’m very unhappy in the flat after just two months and very much want gone from it. With the recent new Tenants Act coming into force on 1st May this year, I read that I can leave with only serving two months notice to quit - despite, and overruling, whatever minimum term my Tenancy Agreement might specify.
I wonder if anyone would be able to confirm this please.
just thought I’d add that if you are going to be looking for a new place, prospective LLs will probably want a LL reference for you. It might be best that this comes from your previous LL if you have one as your current LL is prob not going to be best pleased with you leaving early.
Actually what it says is you can be required to give 2 months notice ending the day before a new rental period
suppose your rental period started on 1 april and is monthly.
then if you give notice today (28 may) you would have to give notice to leave on 31 july, and you have to pay up till then
By agreement with your landlord you can still agree an earlier date. If you are helpful with allowing access for viewings they might find someone willing to move in earlier than 31 july. No sensible LL wants a tenant in their property who doesn’t want to be there. Definitely worth asking.
I presume that you viewed the flat and had a discussion with the Landlord? what is the main reason for wanted to renage on the agreement to stay 12 months ? Something that cannot be solved or changed? Surely its not the other residents? Most retired residents in sheltered housing keep a low profile except at the choc’n’ chat meetings.
Another LL is going to be asking questions of why you shifted so quickly?
I like your ‘rose-tinted’ description of retired residents. They aren’t all quite as you describe - particulary where noise is concerned.
I don’t want to be in the current flat because the kitchen smells revolting at irregular times - but several times a day. I thought, at first, it was an old oven causing it but after several experiments it now seems pretty certain that the source of the smell is via a service shaft which houses the kitchen sink drain pipes for three stories. I’m on ground level. It doesn’t smell of the usual drain smells, it’s a sour, biological heavy odour which enters via a cupboard under my kitchen sink through the gaps where the drain pipes exit the cupboard and enter the service shaft. It really isn’t nice at all and it has caused me to empty the kitchen of all my appliances and revert to eating out.
The Landlady visited while I was out last week (with permission, of course) and, according to the Scheme Manager, she informed her that she couldn’t smell anything. I call this ‘selective smelling.’
I feel sorry for my Landlady because she’s spent a fortune on renovating the whole flat - except the kitchen - and I have a feeling that to cure the smell problem would be rather costly for her - if indeed she agreed to get it fixed.
Thats a good reason. Some people do have much more sensitive sense of smell than others but bad drain smells where the LL either doesnt recognize or is unwilling to deal with is tricky. If it was coming through the kitchen sink the solution would be a simple water ‘trap’ (this is the u bend often found under sinks). If it is coming in somewhere else but still in your flat it could just be the seals between different bits of pipework where these connect that needs replacing - basically rubber rings. Less likely is that the main drain shaft pipe has cracked somehow and needs replacing.
Of course if it’s not constant but irregular it might just not have been present when LL visited and intermittent problems like that are tricky and expensive to get sorted - a plumber or builder might have to wait around till they smell it to then work out where its coming from. A neighbour of mine has intermittent damp patches on a ceiling, many roofers have failed to find the exact source.
If problem is in the drains (some sort of partial blockage) rather than coming from above, it may also be the freeholder who needs to deal with, which adds a layer of complexity to getting it fixed. Or could be other tenants putting wrong stuff down their drains. Another problem is that washing machine and kitchen sink wastes should go into foul water wastes (current regs) but for older properties often go into surface water drains that really should only take rainwater.
David, its not an internal to the waste pipes problem its the service shaft leak from other waste pipes getting a Leak occuring from anywhere across 3 vertical floors and collecting right next to the rear of kitchen cupboards in Aron’s flat. Probably a leaking 100mm soil pipe from toilets etc. - YUK
The Kitchen sink base units needs removing and the kitchen sink/ taps above it in order to get to back wall where his pipes exit and then all gaps sealed up securely around the outside of the waste pipe, 40 or 32mm. dia. Very often service shafting running the full height of the building will have an open grill vent on the roof of the building for venting of same to disperse condensation. When the wind is in a certain strength or direction you can get a down draught straight into Aron’s kitchen base unit - hence the pong!! But several times a day ?? every time a loo is flushed upstairs maybe??
Either way not Aron’s problem. The Freeholder / site manager and owner need to sort it but not before Aron has moved out sharpish and found somewhere that is habitable. Best of Luck to you.
Wise advice - and thank you. I do, however, have over 40 years of good tenancies and I’ve never even been late for a rent payment, let alone a shortfall. This record, combined with honesty, I believe would be quite acceptable to new prospective Landlords.
In that case I’d definitely ask previous landlords for references! I have tenants from 5-10 years ago asking me for references and I’m happy to provide them with one as they were good tenants, paid on time, looked after my properties.
I’m sorry about your situation and I hope you find somewhere nice soon!
