House Rental Contract help

Skillmister

Skillmister

Skillmister

Soldato
Joined
3 Oct 2009
Posts
19,893
Location
Wales
My contract says this

The (fixed) Term of Tenancy ("the term") - 6 Months

No less than one months notice shall be given to terminate the contract, even when at the end of a contract period. It is assumed that at the end of a contract period the landlord will arrange a contract review and renew any previous contracts.

It is a landlords right to serve one months notice for whatever reason at any time to the tenants.
Click to expand...


Can i or can i not give one months notice to end the contract even though i've only been here a couple of months and am well within 'the term'?
 
you cannot and nor can they until the fixed period ends.
also you are under no obligation to accept the contract review at the end of the term for a new 6m term. do nothing and it swaps to (periodic) you being able to give them 1 month notice and them having to give you 2!
 
Err looks to me as though you can. "No less..." certainly appears to be a break clause affording both parties (since neither is specified) the ability to serve notice. Further, it also appears to state that the contract does not merely lapse at the end of the contract period - you are still required to provide one month's notice.
 
Forgot i posted this.Cheers for the replies

DanielMMS said:
Err looks to me as though you can. "No less..." certainly appears to be a break clause affording both parties (since neither is specified) the ability to serve notice. Further, it also appears to state that the contract does not merely lapse at the end of the contract period - you are still required to provide one month's notice.
Click to expand...

That was my thinking.

Also read this online

5.6 Can I leave during the tenancy?
If you have a fixed term tenancy but want to move out before the end of the
term, you can only do so if the landlord agrees you can leave early or if this is
allowed for by a “break clause” in the tenancy agreement and you have followed
any requirements for giving notice specified in the tenancy agreement. If the
agreement does not allow you to leave early and the landlord does not agree that
you can break the agreement, you will be contractually obliged to pay the rent for
the entire length of the fixed term. However, this does not mean that the landlord
should necessarily be able to claim for the whole term’s rent if you leave early:
there is also a responsibility on the landlord in this situation to try to cover his or
her losses in other ways, notably by trying to re-let the accommodation.
Click to expand...

I should find out a bit more about my situation in the next few days but if its not good news i'll just give my landlord a ring and see.
 
you cannot. That excerpt says 'even if you're at the end of the contract period you need to have given notice before you can quit paying'. IANAL.

to me, that last bit
It is a landlords right to serve one months notice for whatever reason at any time to the tenants.
looks like an unfair contract terms since it creates a significant imbalance where the LL can give notice at any time but the tenant cannot.
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft356.pdf
 
Last edited:
I'd read it the same as DanielMMS so at any point either side can give one months notice. The part about "even when at the end of a contract period" looks to be that if you reach 6+ months without notice being given or a renewal then effectively you've got a rolling contract so you've still got to give one months notice.

However that reading makes the final sentence slightly tautologous - that wouldn't be the first time I've seen a poorly drafted contract though that repeats points. I therefore don't think it would come under the Unfair Contract Terms Act since both parties have the ability to give notice for whatever reason.
 
Amleto said:
but it doesn't say anywhere (from what we are shown) that the tenant can terminate at any time. It does say that for the LL.
Click to expand...

I read it as implicit from the "No less than one months notice..." because it doesn't specify which party it is applicable to and then it's been further (pointlessly) emphasised for the landlord in the last sentence. It's possible that wasn't what was intended but I guess we'd only find that out after Skillmister clarifies the point.
 
Skillmister said:
My contract says this




Can i or can i not give one months notice to end the contract even though i've only been here a couple of months and am well within 'the term'?
Click to expand...

im sure you can give one month notice to quit at any date as long as its on or after the end of the fixed term... if you want to leave sooner tell the LL you have lost your job and cannot afford the rent depending on what the ll is like they may let you leave as soon as another tenant is found (probably expecting you to pay any additional fees)

you could probably give 1 months notice on the 1st day of a 6 month fixed term saying that once the 6 months is over you dont want to stay any longer
 
Last edited:
edscdk, I'm pretty sure you can give notice after 5 months according to that excerpt - no need to wait for the end of the term.
 
Well if you want to leave when the fixed term of your AST is up you actually don't need to give any notice at all, its just polite and civil to let your landlord know your moving out on the day your AST ends. Now if you stay one day over the end of the AST you go into a Statutory Periodic Tenancy and then you have to give one months notice. And the LL has to give you 2 months notice.

Now if you want to leave before the AST is finished then you MUST get the LL's permission, BUT he doesn't have to let you go and can ask for you to pay the remanding amount of your tenancy. He can also agree to let you go but that you have to pay the costs associated with getting a new tenant in.
 
semi-pro waster said:
I read it as implicit from the "No less than one months notice..." because it doesn't specify which party it is applicable to and then it's been further (pointlessly) emphasised for the landlord in the last sentence. It's possible that wasn't what was intended but I guess we'd only find that out after Skillmister clarifies the point.
Click to expand...

I think you are reading too much into what is not said. Contracts are not written so that you have to pull meaning out from between the lines. They are written so it is all spelled out. The sentence limits the minimum notice period to be no shorter than one month. It mentions nothing at all about enabling any party to terminate the contract.
 
Amleto said:
I think you are reading too much into what is not said. Contracts are not written so that you have to pull meaning out from between the lines. They are written so it is all spelled out. The sentence limits the minimum notice period to be no shorter than one month. It mentions nothing at all about enabling any party to terminate the contract.
Click to expand...

Good contracts are written so the meaning is clear, this isn't necessarily one of that group. Bad contracts are written all the time by people who don't fully understand the nuances of what they're trying to do.

And if you don't think that there is anything mentioned about enabling one or both parties to terminate the contract then what is the sentence "No less than one months notice shall be given to terminate the contract, even when at the end of a contract period." for? It's possible that it's some weird curiosity of English law but Scottish and English law share much in common regarding contracts from what I recall.
 
The only bit of that excerpt that counts for anything is the first line.

You have a fixed term, no break clause. Neither party can bring the contract to an end before the end of the fixed term. The LL would have to issue 2 months notice using S21 (assuming E&W). You can leave on the very last day without notice (it is a fixed term contract).

If you remain in possession the day after the fixed term ends then you go on to a periodic tenancy (2 moths notice from LL, 1 from T, must coincide with a rent period).

You cannot give notice to leave early, you can leave at the end of 6 months. You can negotiate an early surrender with the LL - notice is only required to unilaterally terminate the tenancy.

edit: Bear in mind that no training is required to be a letting agent or landlord and many/most of them do not fully understand tenancy law. You therefore end up with a whole load of meaningless or unenforceable terms in contracts.
 
semi-pro waster said:
Good contracts are written so the meaning is clear, this isn't necessarily one of that group. Bad contracts are written all the time by people who don't fully understand the nuances of what they're trying to do.

And if you don't think that there is anything mentioned about enabling one or both parties to terminate the contract then what is the sentence "No less than one months notice shall be given to terminate the contract, even when at the end of a contract period." for? It's possible that it's some weird curiosity of English law but Scottish and English law share much in common regarding contracts from what I recall.
Click to expand...
As it says - it explicitly states that notice must be given, even if the end of the term is reached. Without that statement one might argue that no notice is needed to terminate the contract at the end of the term.

As for your last sentence - yes, it's possible. But there is no need to go looking for zebras when there is a horse in front of you.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom