Hi,

The letting agent called me yesterday to see if I wanted to buy the house that I am renting. I spoke to my wife and we decided not to. So my question is, if they serve notice on us. Can we leave the next day and not pay the rent? I anly ask that as we have seen another place that we like.

No. The Notice of Possession will give you two months and you'll have to pay the rent. Discuss your situation with the agent. If they don't allow you to leave before your contract is fullfilled, then there is nothing you can do. Otherwise you have to serve notice and you're still effectively on two month's notice.
Are you on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement? What are the contract details?

I would have thought that a tenant may give a month's notice at any time (after being in the property for at least five months, to make the duration of the tenancy no less than the six-month minimum).

So, my gut feeling would be that, if you're given two months' notice, you should be able to immediately give them one month's notice in return!

Can anyone see any problem with doing this?

That makes the assumption that the fixed term of the tenancy was 6 months and not a year.

Bankrupt Idiot are you still in the fixed term of the tenancy? if so when does it end?

If you are in an AST then the notice period will almost certainly be 2 months. The duration of the agreement will normally be 6, 12 or 24 months. A Notice of Possession is normally served two months before the contract is up if they want you to sign another AST for the next period. If not, and you stay on, the contract (post-AST) will still be an implied 2 months and the terms and conditions of the previous AST will apply. The agreemtn is statutory, i.e. it comes into effect automatically to ensure that the previous AST remains in force. If they don't serve the Notice of Possession, then the tenant will normally have the right to stay on into the statutory period.

The terms to search for on Google are "Assured Shorthold Tenancy" and "STATUTORY PERIODIC ASSURED SHORTHOLD TENANCY".

I'm no expert of tenancies without a contract - they're not good for either side.

I would say that the tenants notice period to end the fixed term is actually nothing, out of Courtesy at least one month should be given, This is regardless of what the AST says as the required notice periods are prescribed in the act and contract terms cant trump the law. If the tenancy as lapsed into Statutory Periodic then the notice period is again one month, as this is the period prescribed in statute, if it was 2 months it wouldn’t be statutory periodic would it?

Again all this is academic until the original poster tells us if the contract is still in the fixed term or not.

Hi Guys, Yes it is short term. We have been in the property for 7 months. What I can't understand is why I have to stay the notice period if they want to evict me? They have told me they want me out, but how can they force me to stay until they want me to? I can't see it standing up in court, especially if I have already found a new property? I though the two months was to protect the tennant and not the landlord?

So i assume your fixed term was 6 months? therefore you are now in a periodic. What written notice have you recieved from the agents/ll? have they asked you to leave as soon as? if so then you can if you like, just make sure you have it in writing that they want you to leave as soon as. It will all depend on what you have or can get in writting.

If you are desperate to leave and dont have the above in writing, you can serve one full months notice ending on the same date that the fixed term finished on, but you are responsible for rent and utilities/c/tax until the notice is over and you move.

You could approach the Agency and ask them to approach the LL.

Will depend whether LL is confident of a quick sale - and how much he needs your rent to keep coming in.

I've done this before - and offered to move out quickly so that the property can be sold unlet - always a better prospect than if a tenant is in, I've said - and in return asked to be released from the last month of my contract.

Normally, I stay until the bitter end and negotiate to stay beyond because I hate moving - and it takes awhile to sell a place. But once I did have a LL who was desperate to sell - and took my offer - and no problems there getting my deposit back either - but I had to persuade the LA to let me talk to him personally - and that took alot of persuasion. Not sure whether that's because it affected their cut or not.

Worth a try.

Otherwise, in my experience - you do have to pay for the overlap of properties.

By the way don't forget - even if you have to run to end of tenancy - but move into your new place - Council Tax - you can ask for the exemption period - so you don't have to pay Council Tax on both premises.