I want to leave a rental which begin on April 15 2019. Can I leave as early as April 15 2020 if I give one months notice, or with one months notice do I have to stay until May 15.
Confused
Hi Ann, what is the fixed term described in your agreement? I.e. was it a 12-month contract?
Sam
Hi Sam,
12 month contract with automatic renewal unless I give notice to leave.
Hi Ann, My understanding is that ‘automatic renewal’ clauses are usually found to be not enforceable. That is to say, I understand that if:
- the tenant leaves the property by the last day of the fixed term
- stops paying rent
Then the tenancy will be understood to have ended, regardless of the lack of notice given by the tenant to the landlord, even if a term requiring notice to be given was included in the tenancy agreement.
In this case, you could terminate the tenancy on 14th April, by simply moving out and not paying rent for the next period (i.e. the upcoming month after April). NB: if you stay until 15th April, then you will have stayed one day extra, and will no longer be able to terminate the tenancy via this method.
Having said this, if you are sure you wish to leave at the end of the initial term, then I would serve notice now, indicating that you wish to leave on the last day of the tenancy. This lets the landlord know what your plans are, so you can both plan an organised end to the tenancy agreement.
Sam
Hi Sam,
I think I am making it sound more complicated. I actually wanted to know if I can leave on April 14th or if I can only give notice then and leave on May 14th.
Thanks so much,
Ann
From what you’ve shared here, it sounds like you could leave on 14th April
Sam
Okay,
Appreciate that Sam. That’s what I was hoping.