Tenants rights – statutory periodic tenancy

well i had this from my legal advisor….

s5 Housing act 1988 says that when a tenancy goes periodic “any notice requirement of the tenant shall be of no effect”. The High court in LAINE & SHEPHERD -v- CADWALLADER 2002 interpreted this to mean the tenant has to give at least a month notice and it has to end the last day of a period of the tenancy

so in effect, its a months notice….. hope this helps.

I know you have said a month notice. But what about my contract that says 2 months what I have signed does it mean it is invalid?

Reply to the comment left by “Michelle light” at “16/01/2015 – 12:36“:

well im not a legal person, but i suspect it could easily be challenged in a court..

you could always write to him saying you have sought legal advise and his tenancy condition with regards to notice period for the tenant is incorrect and then quote what i put… would he want to risk anything? but obviously in relation to your initial question, the tenancy will always end the last day of a rent period, you just need to sort whether its Feb or March…

best thing is to obviously sort things out amicably with him ..

Reply to the comment left by “Mark Lynham” at “16/01/2015 – 12:43“:

and with regards to the contract i wouldnt say its invalid, but i suppose that part could be construed as an unfair term.. i of course may be totally wrong…

Ok thank you so much for your help.

most welcome 🙂

Reply to the comment left by “Michelle light” at “15/01/2015 – 20:03“:

You have to pay rent up to the effective date of your notice.

As Mark L has said, the Laine vs Cadwallader CoA judgement appears to confirm that the two-month notice period clause in your contract has no effect.

However, that is the position for a Statutory Periodic Tenancy. It is possible that your tenancy agreement has created a Contractual Periodic Tenancy. I do not know the position if you have a Contractual Periodic Tenancy.
I would suggest that you seek legal advice, possibly via Citizen’s Advice.

If you have given notice to 31 March, then you have to pay to that date. But (I believe) you stlii have time to serve notice to 28 February.

I also agree that you should talk to your landlord to reach an amoicable agreement.

What is a contractual contact? how will I know? I have given my notice in writing for 1 month.

“What is a contractual contact?”

I do not know exactly; it is to do with the way the agreement is worded. It is actually a Contractual Periodic Tenancy, which has some different legal implications to a Statutory Periodic Tenancy.

I think it has the “term” defined as something like “X months and continuing thereafter on a periodic basis”.
You woulde need to ask someone with legal knowledge to be sure.

If you have given one month’s notice, then I believe you will be liable for rent to the end of February.

I have an Assured Short Tenancy which started on 6th September. Due to unforseen circumstances I have to leave early. I informed the landlord in December so he had two months notice. He accepted providing I paid the last months rent on 6th February. I paid a deposit which is being held in a deposit protection scheme. I asked the landlord what happens to the deposit if I leave early and he said he would return the deposit on the handover of the keys. I then confirmed by leaving date and the estate manager confirmed he would be down to collect the keys on the day we vacated. 24 hours prior to us leaving he then stated they won’t return the deposit until the old tenancy expiry date and wont collect the keys! No inventory was completed and no inspection prior to us leaving. They want us to leave the property empty until the original expiry date (6 weeks after leaving) then come back for an inspection! Where on earth do we stand?