Not to pay my landlord?

[BeauMirchoff]

If I'm BU, please fire away! But...
DH and I are renting and because we've outgrown the property (two young children), we've decided to move. We gave our landlord one month's notice on 1 October. We pay our rent every 10th. My understanding is that we now have to pay rent for the period of 10 October - 1 November. However, landlord is asking for the whole rent..? So until 10 November! And he says he'll give us back the difference when we move out... Surely we shouldn't be paying for the 9 days we're already going to be living somewhere else? And he should just calculate NOW what we have to pay exactly? We did give one month's notice, as required in the contract. AIBU not to pay the whole amount? It's such a bizarre request!

[OurBlanche]

Yes! Inventory, EPC, Right to Rent booklet, Smoke/CO alarms and that very late deposit protection...

ALL give you an opportunity to push back, if you choose to do so.

But Hissy is right, you give notice to coincide with a rental period - the day your rent is due - and your LL may choose to return any unused portion, but they don't have to. As they have already offered to they are being very fair!

But that may be because they know they have left themselves open to legal proceedings due to the late deposit protection. My pm included a good place to get advice and support that you can trust!

[Hissy]

Call Shelter or make an appointment with CAB

Much of the "advice" you have here and your own "understanding" of the contract is WRONG

It doesn't matter what day you give notice before the next rent payment date, notice starts from that rental payment date.

Your notice will run 10 Oct to 10 Nov. If you are leaving early the landlord may return you some money from that unused rent, but he's/she's not obliged to.

Make sure you check your inventory and leave the property in no worse condition than you have evidence of receiving it in.

[OurBlanche]

I have pm'd you. You could have a lot of fun at his expense... once you have moved out!

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Good the money is in a deposit scheme now so you will be protected. Yes this sounds very fishy. Have you got it in writing that he will refund you the extra days if you pay them upfront?

In any case, speak to the cab as I don't know what happens if there is no valid contract. As I said previously, I was informed by my letting agents a few years ago, the 4 weeks couldn't be enforced when tenants gave just 2 weeks notice to quit (basically their rent was 2 weeks late coming in and after chasing for it, the tenant finally gave 2 weeks notice).

[ParForTheCourses]

You definitely need to speak to cab then op. Your deposit should have been protected years ago. I wouldn't bank on his returning the money and would do as the agreement he wrote stipulates: pay for 4 weeks from the date you gave notice not up to rent day.

[BeauMirchoff]

Yes, I do need a reference. He IS a bit of a dodgy one my landlord so I need to play this right. Our deposit is in a deposit protection scheme but he only put it there a few months ago (we've lived here for three years!).
Thank you all for your replies so far!

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Basically you don't have a legal tenancy agreement.

Who has hold of the deposit? If it is the landlord, that's illegal. Unless you've been renting since before April 2007.

The question is, do you need a reference to rent your new place? if not, tell him to go fuck himself.

[thecatneuterer]

Strumpers and Chikara. Generally speaking it is from the rent day. However, if the LL wants this, he should put it in the contract as the examples above (or use a proper contract which will have it in anyway). He hasn't, so four weeks is four weeks (not even a calendar month!).

[Chikara]

Usually 1 month from rent due day. If LL is able to rent property after you move out but before your contract is up he must refund you that money. Illegal to take double rent.

[StrumpersPlunkett]

Yabu. It's a months notice from the day you pay your rent.

[PinkyOfPie]

This is what my tenant's says (although I have never enforced it with a tenant) anything like that wording OP?

[PinkyOfPie]

Ah feck just seen that post, the one for my tenant is completely different, ignore me!

[thecatneuterer]

Oh and clause 7 of that agreement is in fact unlawful as LLs must by law give two months notice to the tenant, not one.

[thecatneuterer]

But Pinky it seems the OP doesn't in fact have a standard AST contract. In fact it looks at lot like one the LL has written himself.

[PinkyOfPie]

As others have said you ideally should leave on a rent due date or pay up until then it's in standard AST contracts

[thecatneuterer]

Fine then. Four weeks is four weeks. The LL is wrong and you are right.

[BeauMirchoff]

This is what my tenancy agreement says:

[thecatneuterer]

What does your contract say OP?

[thecatneuterer]

evilkitten I was under the impression that Spencer v Taylor was only relevant to the Section 21 notice served by LLs, which changed as a consequence. The NLA section 21 was changed following this, but section 4.2.2 of the NLA contract refering to tenants' notice period under a periodic tenancy was not changed.

If you think this is not the case can you please link to the relevant document showing where the normal tenant notice period changed as a result of this ruling. (It's not that I ever enforce it myself, as I said, I'm happy to pro-rata the rent if necessary - it's just out of academic interest)

[evilkitten]

It used to be the case a few years ago that notice could only be given on a rent day. This changed following a challenge in court (Spencer vs. Taylor) in 2014. As long as you've given the required notice, then you should only be paying rent to the end of the tenancy.

[Shiningexample]

I have lived in many rented properties, 10 or 15 at a rough guess and never had to tie the notice period in with when the rent was due

[Shiningexample]

Maybe your rent is covering his mortgage on the flat, and he is a little short without your rent money, but he reckons he can "borrow" from you and pay it back later when he might have other funds
You're probably right, another clueless landlord who didn't do his sums and will be up shit creek without a paddle when the new legislation comes into effect

[Soontobenewmummy]

I had exactly the same thing - gave correct notice but moved out mid rent cycle (with LL's agreement) but he still wanted full months rent - I paid the amount for the time we would be there but he insisted he needed the full month and would refund us difference. I thought it was a bit odd but went along with it as he'd always been a decent LL and he was true to his word - refunded difference very quickly. This was entirely separate to our deposit.

Thinking about PPs - perhaps allowing a tenant to move out mid month is at the LL discretion, so they take the full months rent in case the next tenants fall through?

[user1471545174]

Can you just move out on 9 November instead of 1 November?

[MrsKoala]

Whenever i have rented it has always been rent day to rent day. (which would have been the day of the month you moved in). If we have given our months notice earlier than that it has been automatic that the months notice is from the rent day to the following rent day.

We are now LLs and expect the same. I think it's U to give a months notice at and arbitrary date in the month and then expect to calculate the remaining days.