Ending tenancy early but paying for full month?

Ending tenancy early but paying for full month?

9:57 AM, 3rd February 2023, About A year ago 46

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Hello, Due to dates/times not quite aligning, I will be moving into a new property midway through the rental period on my current rented property (rolling monthly contract, no arrears or issues).

To save having to drive back and forward between properties to check on the empty rental and being liable for gas/electric/water, can I end my tenancy and return the keys early?

I am happy to pay the full month’s rent required, I just want to finish up with the current rental place and be done with it.

Thanks for any advice.

Jenn


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Comments

Chris Bradley

11:11 AM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Kate Mellor at 04/02/2023 - 11:01
It was something to do with the handing back of keys.
If the landlord accepts the keys earlier they are accepting early termination by mutual agreement.
If the tenant vacates and check out date is the official end date then there is no early termination.

Seething Landlord

12:00 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Christopher Rattew at 04/02/2023 - 10:21
I am glad that you think it's all clear, did you read the comments at the end of the article?

All ASTs give the tenant security for the fixed term so I'm not sure why you think that your tenancies are anything out of the ordinary in that respect.

Judith Wordsworth

13:46 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Christopher Rattew at 03/02/2023 - 17:20
Stundents are exempt from Council tax

Chris Rattew

14:38 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Kate Mellor at 04/02/2023 - 11:01
The tenancies are fixed term, so the rent is due until the end of the term in the standard contract, although we have an early termination clause which limits the loss to the tenant if they have to leave early. Advance rent cannot be taken beyond the term of the tenancy. If it was a payment that is contractually refundable, it would no longer be a rent payment

Chris Rattew

14:41 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 04/02/2023 - 13:47
Students are exempt from council tax only if they claim exemption, otherwise the bailiffs pursue them. The exemption only lasts till the day of their final assessment.

Chris Rattew

14:44 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 04/02/2023 - 12:00
The issue with security is that the government is talking about everyone having a contract that permits recovery of the property after 2 months for all sorts of reasons. I understood that the legislation wants to ban fixed-term contracts, although I cannot see how we can do that.

Chris Rattew

14:51 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 04/02/2023 - 12:00
I read all of both links. I could not see any issue with advance rents. It is just the last 2 months rent that they pay in advance, although sometimes they pay more to get a small discount.

Chris Rattew

15:10 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 04/02/2023 - 01:06
I think the issue was that the agreement was not clear. On our 12-month contracts, the dates and amounts of the rent payments are clear. The standard is for the last 2 months to be paid in advance, although sometimes part of this is fixed for a date early in the tenancy. The contract as it stands does require the tenant to pay rent to cover the full term, although this is sometimes varied by mutual agreement during the tenancy. The tenant in practice needs less money over the year than if they paid a deposit and waited for its return.

Seething Landlord

18:25 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Christopher Rattew at 04/02/2023 - 14:44
We will have to wait until the Bill is published to see the exact detail but as I understand it the proposal is that all tenancies will be periodic from day one, S21 will be repealed and all possession proceedings will have to be brought under S8. The only fixed term tenancies permitted will be for purpose built student accommodation. Student landlords understandably dismayed at these proposals and there has been a tremendous amount of lobbying to ensure that government understand the problems that this will cause students generally.

Chris Bradley

18:30 PM, 4th February 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 04/02/2023 - 18:25
In Wales changes have already happened.
The tenant doesn't have to leave at the end of a fixed term unless they choose to.the landlord needs to give 6 months notice which cannot be given during the fixed term.
The tenancy type changes at the end of the fixed term to a periodic unless another fixed term is agreed. Landlords have 14 days to give the new contract in writing or get penalised. It's 45 pages long and so so little detail other than the actual law which could be covered in one sentence.
So instead of a normal 12 month fixed term, which would.in effect be 18 months if I had to serve notice I have decided on periodic from the start which gives the tenant 12 months guaranteed and me only 28days

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