please could someone explain the difference between a 6 month AST and a 12 month AST with a 6 month break clause.
I’m about to confirm the latter AST with a potential tenant, but just want to know the finer details first. If my future tenant wants to give notice after the 6 month break clause has passed, say after 8 months, is this still possible and if so, would he have to give 2 months’ notice, like he would in the 1st 4 months, or would he have to give 1 month’s notice?
The 6 month or 12 month fixed term you’ve mentioned basically sets the expected tenancy length.
If it’s only going to run for 6 months, then it makes sense to set a 6 month term. For a longer tenancy, a 12 month term means a contract is in place, with a break clause there to provide flexibility.
There’s a useful article about this on our Help Centre here:
The default break clause of 4 months means the tenant can serve 2 months notice to end the tenancy, at any point once the tenancy is at least 4 months into the fixed term.
It’s only after the fixed term has ended (assuming the tenant stays in the property and it continues as a periodic tenancy) that the 1 month notice period you’ve mentioned becomes available to the tenant.
I hope is helpful, but do need to point out that the team here at OpenRent is not legally trained and this is not legal advice. If you’d like us to put you in touch with our legal partner though, just get in touch using the ‘Need Help’ button on the website!