Government sets out rules for when tenants want to leave under the Renters’ Rights Act

A “serious” landlord?
How can a tenancy end on the day rent is due as that creates a new rent period? If starts on the 5th of the month it ends on the 4th as the rent period is 1 month.
“How will a tenant end a tenancy once the reforms are implemented?
A tenant will be able to end a tenancy by giving 2 months’ notice. The end date of the tenancy will need to align with the end of a rent period.”
And a landlord not able to give more than 2 months notice? A landlord will need to give a minimum of 4 months notice. Nothing stopping giving more than 4 months. BUT Ground 10 need only give 4 weeks notice if tenant in arrears of any amount – not the minimum of 3 months noted in Ground 8. OK 10 is discretionary and 8 is mandatory possession.
Interestingly a year or 6 months rent can be paid in advance IF the tenant requests as long as not a condition/clause in the Tenancy Agreement that the landlord requires rent in advance.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act

I’m confused. Won’t landlords have to give 4 months notice for tenants to leave after 1st May?

Isn’t the 2 months notice tenants have to give potentially closer to 3 months? If someone gets offered a new job 2 days after paying their rent the earliest date the notice period could end would be 2 months and 28 days later. Unless we choose to be flexible. Would offering flexibility be misinterpreted?

How did anyone think it was a good idea for joint tenants to be subjected to this level of uncertainty?

And if they don’t leave at the end of the notice they gave? ..

Am I reading that right? If a joint tenat decides they have had enough they can give notice and leave the other joint tenant high and dry? Thats another problem in the making thats going to get pushed onto the LL

Reply to the comment left by Paddy O’Dawes at 10/12/2025 – 10:36
The joint tenancy problem is one of my biggest concerns. A lot of student groups sign up too early with people they have only just met. It’s quite common for first year students to arrive at university towards the end of September and sign a contract for a house in October for the following September. They have vaguely met their housemates at that point and probably haven’t met the people who will be their friends.
Fast forward to the following autumn and the cracks appear. It only takes one argument for one of them to give notice and the whole group has a problem. At that stage there aren’t going to be many students looking for housing, so they will either have to live with someone they don’t know, pay more rent each or find somewhere else to live (which is unlikely to be anywhere close to where they want to live).
All of this upheaval could easily coincide with exams or out of area placements.

Perhaps that is the answer for HMOs. Let the whole property on a joint agreement then theoretically you can get vacant possession every time someone leaves.

Problem tenant – get a friend to move in and immediately give notice. This looks plausible under the rules above; but it also makes a mockery of the statement that death of a tenant does not end the tenancy.

One tenant of a group of joint tenants on a single AST have always been able to give notice to end the tenancy without the agreement of the other joint tenants. This is not new. I quote “…Thus, if one joint tenant serves a notice to quit on the landlord, this will determine the joint tenancy whether or not the other joint tenants have agreed to serve a notice to quit. Likewise, if a landlord serves a notice to quit on one of the number of joint tenants, termination of one joint tenant’s interest terminates the interests of all the other joint tenants (Hammersmith and Fulham LBC v Monk [1992] 1 AC 478 [1991] 3 WLR 1144).” Garner & Frith; 2017; p 153-154; A Practical Approach to Landlord and Tenant

Reply to the comment left by Paddy O’Dawes at 10/12/2025 – 10:36
That has always been the case. See my other comment with details.

Requiring tenants to give two months notice is just plain ridiculous. Say I’ve got one of my properties empty and start advertising and the perfect tenant comes along. I obviously want the property occupied and tenanted a.s.a.p. But this great tenant I’ve found has to give two months notice to their current landlord (who is not flexible and holding them to this). So I have to wait two months for tenant to end current tenancy and I lose two months rent. It’s very unlikely to be two months, as current landlord is holding tenant to give notice up to next payment date. So could in reality be just shy of three months. So what am I going to do ? Likely I choose another tenant who doesn’t have to give any notice at all.
Should have left the notice period as one month as it was for periodic tenancies. Worked just fine I never heard a landlord complain about it. This two months and longer notice, is no help to either landlords or tenants. Just another dog’s dinner.

Reply to the comment left by Cathie at 10/12/2025 – 10:19
If the tenants don’t leave at the end of the notice period that they gave, the tenancy does in fact still end and they are legally considered to be “holding over”, which can leave them liable to a penalty of double rent. Usually the threat of double rent will motivate them. You will have to charge it as a holding over penalty explicitly and ensure you don’t inadvertently create a new periodic tenancy.