Tenancy ends 23/07, when can I leave

[TenancyQuestion]

Posting for traffic.

If my tenancy ends on the 23/07, am I legally allowed to leave the property on the 23rd without giving prior notice? I just had a call from the EA who told me that if I want to leave, I need to give 8 weeks notice!

I checked my tenancy and it actually doesn’t say anything about how much notice I need to give. My tenancy says that if I go onto a rolling tenancy then I have to give the required amount of notice (which I believe is 4 weeks from what I’ve read on Shelter). As I’m still on a fixed term contact, I can leave on the end date can’t I?

This may sound like a silly question but the EA has me doubting my legal stance. Thank you!

Im pretty sure you can leave on 23.7.
Agents are liars.

Here you go:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/ending-a-private-tenancy/ending-your-tenancy/#:~:text=Leaving%20when%20your%20fixed%20term,or%20your%20deposit%20back%20quicker.

The EA “8 weeks” is unheard of and it’s not in your AST. I would go with the 4 weeks in the AST as notice you won’t be doing the rolling tenancy. If you just email notice now, you will be covered in case the EA argues with the deposit dispute people that you were required to give notice.

Yes, you can leave without notice at the end of the fixed term (it won't make you very popular but that is absolutely not your problem)

(I work for one of the agent accreditation schemes)

Thank you guys! I was pretty sure that I could legally leave on the last day without giving notice so I have no clue where this 8 weeks nonsense came from.

I’m still looking for a suitable rental property so I don’t want to give any written notice when the kids and I have nowhere to live. I’ve had a terrible, TERRIBLE time with the EA and the Landlord so I won’t be kind enough to give them any notice. Luckily, I don’t have a deposit so there won’t be any issues there.

I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t breaking any laws or breaking my tenancy agreement

Can I ask why you have not given notice just to be clear with other parties involved though?

Cross post, they've been gits!

But if you have nowhere to go, you still have to be out on 23rd

That’s incorrect.

Yes you can leave without notice on the last day of the fixed term.

(And even if the tenancy contract did say you had to give notice to do so, it wouldn't be a valid clause - the tenancy quite simply (and logically) ends on the last day of the fixed term. If the tenant doesn't vacate on the last day, then at midnight a periodic/rolling tenancy will automatically arise under Housing Act 1988, replacing the expired fixed term tenancy).

I used to be a landlord, and was briefly a tenant between a house sale and purchase. I vacated on the last day of the fixed term without giving notice. Up to then, the agent had been hassling me to sign a new contract or give notice, but shut up when he realised I actually knew the law (they rely on tenants' ignorance).

Edit: this is the law in England & Wales.

No, only if the landlord has served a section 21 sixty days prior to the end date of the fixed term. Even if they serve it now, OP would still get 1 month of rolling tenancy.

She still wouldn't have to leave even if they had served a section 21

A s.21 notice does not end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy upon expiry, it merely entitles the landlord to apply for a court order for possession.

This!

OP's tenancy contract only refers to giving notice if a periodic (aka rolling) tenancy arises after expiry of the fixed term tenancy. OP is under no obligation to give notice to end a fixed term tenancy, as it expires on the last day of the fixed term and, if the tenant vacates by then, a periodic tenancy will not arise.

If a tenant tells the landlord/agent they intend to leave on the last day of the fixed term, it is merely a courtesy, and has no legal effect.

This is exactly what I thought. Logically, if the tenancy ends on a certain day then I can leave by that date without giving notice. You’re absolutely right that EA’s rely on the tenants ignorance, that’s why I thought it’s best to double check on MN and Shelter!

Just to confirm, if I do stay past 23/07 and it becomes a rolling month by month tenancy, I’d have to give 4 weeks notice from when I want to leave? I better make sure that I’m out of there by the 23rd😆

Ah OK, my mistake.

@TenancyQuestion Just to confirm, if I do stay past 23/07 and it becomes a rolling month by month tenancy, I’d have to give 4 weeks notice from when I want to leave? I better make sure that I’m out of there by the 23rd😆

It depends on the period length in the statutory periodic tenancy (SPT), which is based on the frequency with which the rent is due. Usually, this will be per calendar month. The tenant's notice to quit (NTQ) must also expire on the last or first day of a tenancy period. And it must be served to the address for serving notices provided in the fixed term contract.

E.g. let's say your first month's rent in the fixed term contract was for 24th July - 23rd August 2023. And that you don't move out on 23rd July 2024, and on 24th July 2024 the periodic tenancy arises, replacing the expired fixed term tenancy. The periods will run 24th - 23rd.

If you were to serve NTQ on 1st August 2024, the earliest it could expire would be 23rd September 2024.

However, in practice, the landlord is likely to accept a technically invalid NTQ if it suits him/her for the tenant to move out sooner.

N.B. a NTQ ends the tenancy full stop. If you didn't move out at the end of your NTQ, a new SPT would NOT arise.

P.S. if your rent is due weekly, then the minimum length of a NTQ is 28 days, also expiring on the first or last day of a (weekly) tenancy period.

I think you need someone to look at your specific contract language. If it is like almost all agreements it includes something about converting to a rolling tenancy. it would really surprise me if there is nothing in the agreement that requires you to inform the landlord in advance that you won’t be exercising that option.

You're missing the point which is that tenancy law supersedes anything that's in a contract, and under tenancy law a periodic contract is automatic if the tenant doesn't vacate on the last day of the fixed term. The tenant doesn't have to give notice for this to happen. If the tenant does vacate then the landlord just regains possession of the property. Again, no notice is required.

I think I kind of understand this😂 thank you!

Thank you again for clarifying, it’s really helpful to know where I stand

Why don't they have a deposit?

I was in your shoes, they wrote me letter saying if we wanted to stay it was waaaay more expensive. We didn’t respond and planned to move out, about two weeks before they presented us with a new tenancy agreement, I said no thank you, they went into panic mode and advertised it. I suspect the agent in your case has also been caught napping, assumed that you were staying

Hold up, you don’t have a deposit? The landlord is breaking the law by not having a deposit in one of the deposit schemes. Do you have a current gas safety certificate? Did he give you the How to rent document? Have you got an AST? If the tenancy ends on 23rd July, it would be nice to tell him you aren’t renewing.

It's not breaking the law to have no deposit, only to take a deposit and fail to protect it properly