Termination of Tenancy

[tabbitha]

I moved into my present property on 28th Jan 05, with a shorthold assured tenancy agreement. I was served two months notice by my landlady on April 20th 05 as she is selling the property. I have now found somewhere to move into but my landlady says I have to pay rent up until July 15th, and yet I want to move into my new property asap. As she has first given me notice within my 6mths tenancy has she broken her shorthold tenancy agreement, and therefore I can leave when I like instead of seeing out the full 6 months. 

[acw]

Hey tabbitha,

I presume your contract doesn't cover this?  You seem to have read that document well, so I shall assume that this exact scenario is not covered. 

Others, especially lillabet, are very helpful on these matters.  My thoughts are that under the equitable doctrine of promissory estoppel she cannot claim rent for any longer until 20th June 205 - then end of the notice period. 

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-271.cfm This is the most comprehensive advice I could find, but it didn't really answer the question.  It did point out that it depends on whether your agreement is fixed term or rolling, and that if it's fixed term, there may still be a clause to say it can be terminated. 

However, I think if you call them, or the Citizens' Advice Bureau they will be able to answer you very quickly. 

Good luck!!! :-)

[Didwot]

To recover possession of a shorthold tenancy the landlord must give not less than two months' notice expiring at the end of the tenancy, or the same day of any following month.
I assume your tenancy started on 16 January, and the notice that you recieved expires on 15 July. If that is so then all your landlady has done is to act in accordance with the tenancy. If your landlady has given notice which does not conform to the above then it is of no effect, and the tenancy continues to run. In either case you have to abide by your part of the bargain, and pay rent until the tenancy comes to a end. There appears to be no question of the landlady reletting, and mitigating any loss, because of the proposed sale.

[acw]

Didwot - I don't think tabbitha disputes that she was given 2 months notice and has to move out.  I think her query is relating to the extra month's rent that she's being asked for.  She's be asked to move out within 2 months, but to pay rent for 3 months after the date notice was served.  At least that's how I understand the problem. 

I personally think that if notice was served on April 20th, then tabbitha not only HAS to be out by that date, but on that date, the legal relationship comes to an end and no rent should be due for time AFTER the 2 months' notice. 

[tabbitha]

Thanx acw, no my contract seems to out lay all my obligations but not many of hers. Did try C.A.B but they gave me confusing evidence. For instance yes I must pay till the end of the 6mths Tenancy, but, as I said she has served me notice before the end of the initial 6 mths, so as I understand it she is in breach of her contract, as the 6mths tenancy is to protect both parties, then after that she can serve me notice or I can give her notice of 1 mth. Otherwise technically if she was to sell the house tomorrow I could by her reckoning stay there til the end of the tenancy, which am sure will be a little awkward

[Lillabet]

Hi, hope I can help - but I don't think this is going to be what you want to hear. Assuming that you have a standard shorthold assured tenancy agreement with no special notice clauses then the position is as follows.

1 You have committed to pay for six months rent.

2 You are entitled to remain in the property for the full six months unless the landlord wants to repossess her house during the term which she can only do so with a Court Order which is only granted on defined grounds. The grounds include arrears of rent over two months, failing to comply with tenancy conditions and nuisance.

3 If your landlady does not want the tenancy to continue at the end of the assured period then she has to give at least 2 months notice. So if she wants you out at the end of the six months ahe has to give you notice at the latest by the end of month 4.

4 By giving notice three months early she has not broken her part of the agreement she has actually exceeded the minimum that she is required to do. What she has done is give you notice for the end of the agreement not notice for two months from the date that she spoke/wrote to you.

5 If you have not done anything that would allow her to remove you via Court Order you can stay in your current house until the tenancy agreement expires on 28th July 2005.

6 However. If you and your landlady reach mutual agreement to vary the terms of the agreement then such an agreement is binding. So if you convince her that vacant possession is in her interests when selling the house then she may agree to your not paying the final month's rent.

Otherwise you do have to pay.

[Didwot]

Thanks acw, but my answer, is correct, and Lillabet has given a very useful answer which fully echoes my views. The point is that the tenancy has to run for 6 months, and therefore the notce must either be for longer than the two months tabbitha states, or it is invalid. In either event tabbitha has to comply with her obligations.
Perhaps tabbitha could help by copnfirming the start date of the tenancy, and the date for recovery of possession given in the notice.

[acw]

I apologise for getting confused and giving useless advice.  As usual Lillabet gave the correct answer and Didwot was also totally right.

I would hazard a guess that the contract started on 28th Jan 05 - but as I've been wrong on everything else, I won't. 

[Lillabet]

Anna, it's Friday. Plus the intricacies of landlord tenant law are meant to confuse everyone. If I didn't have the same sort of agreement I wouldn't have known the answer. Like you I too assume that the agreement began on the day she moved in and will run out at the end of July. Have a good weekend!

[Didwot]

Hi Anna, have a great weekend in Manchester. The dates tabbitha refers to are confusing. I would like to see her reply to my earlier query.

[acw]

Thanks!  I shall probably have my most dull weekend in Manchester for a long time - it's revision time.  You'll be pleased to know I finished with Land Law a long time ago and it fell out of my head pretty quickly after that!  I have exams in Economic Analysis of Corporate Governance, and Ec Analysis of Regulation next week.  Oh - and Basic Qunatitative Methods.  Mmmmmm - FUN!

PS - Sorry tabbitha - not meaning to hijack!

[acw]

Right - I've reread this and I'm still totally confused.  The information on the Shelter website (I gave a link above) says that a landlord must give 2 months notice.  It doesn't say that they CAN'T give notice within the 6 months.  I'm not meaning to say that you guys are wrong, but it appears to me that either you guys are wrong, or the website is.  Gawd I'm glad I'm going into Pensions law! Teehee!

[Lillabet]

I don't think the shelter site is particularly well worded. As I understand it the tenancy is assured for a set period of time. If the landlord wishes to give you notice that they wish you to leave at the end of the assured period then they must give you at least 2 months notice.

So if they want to let to you for 6 months and only 6 months then they could give you notice at any point from the first day of the tenancy up to the last day of month 4. In all cases this just means that the tenancy will not be renewed. 

In tabbitha's case her landlady has given notice at the end of month 3. So in effect she has given 3 months notice.

[Didwot]

Now here is a thought. Is it not the law that the tenant can give one month's notice?

[tabbitha]

To didwot, yes, I have given her one months notice last week as she said I had to, but then would not accept it ???? Thanx all for your comments, its getting complicated tho', I can't help thinking that as she has served me two months notice from April 20th, I can move out on June 20th, tho' she still seems to think I have to pay up to 16th July, by the way not sure if it makes any difference but I pay my rent 4 weekly, not monthly.