Notice to landlord

[HaveAGoodDay]

After seven years of renting we've bought our own house. We've only ever signed one tenancy agreement with our landlord and that was for the first 6 months!

We phoned our landlord last week & gave him 4 weeks notice. He did remark that it wasn't very long notice, but we pay rent rent on a monthly basis - I don't think we needed to give him longer?

What does your tenancy agreement state on the amount of notice you need to give? Also you need to check whether you need to put it in writing.

If you are in a fixed term tenancy then you can give up to two months' notice to end the tenancy at the expiry of the fixed term. If you have stayed on in the property without signing up to another fixed term, you are there on a 'statutory periodic tenancy' with all the terms of the original agreement effective, however in order to effectively give notice you need to give a month's notice to end on either the day before of the day the next lot of rent is due to be paid.

You can't just give 4 weeks' notice in the middle of the month if your rent is in fact due at the beginning of the month.

However, if your landlord is amenable (always best to have these things in writing), you may be able to agree a variation.

Sorry GoodDay - just realised you have stated you are on a stat periodic tenancy.

It sounds as though the landlord is okay with things, but surprised that after seven years you didn't tell him your plans to get your own place, not that you are obliged to do so.

if you are on a rolling tenancy (i.e. no agreement) your notice to him is indeed one month. but it must be in writing and to expire on the date your rent is normally paid, you can't just pick any four weeks.

so write a letter, check the date and send recorded delivery.

his notice to you is two months on the same terms.

where is your deposit?

Yes we rang him on the exact date the rent payment comes out by direct debit.

He didn't ask for anything in writing. We requested our deposit to be handed back when we give him the keys.

wowfudge - thanks for your reply, i think our landlord is okay with it all, he'll have to be. However I fail to see how telling our landlord our future plans to purchase our own property to live in would have been the best idea for both parties!

hopefully he will be ok with it - but there have been people on here who have gone to return the keys only to have the landlord go 'what notice?'. Please put it in writing.

if your deposit is protected it doesn't get handed back like that. You contact the scheme to request its release and it is for him to request any deductions - which then need to be proved by him and agreed. Normal time for return of deposit from the scheme is 10 days. Are you sure it is protected?

you didn't have to tell him any plans, but it does help landlords to know what tenants are planning.

Hopefully he is honest like most people - but if he isn't you are a bit exposed. Please protect yourself by issuing written notice and checking on your deposit protection.

From our standing, we've had a good relationship with our landlord, especially in the beginning. He's always expressed that we're good tenants. Okay so for last couple of years he hasn't always been on the ball with repairs - but we kind of know he's quite a busy person, so we've been really tolerant of quite a few repair jobs that really could & should have been done.

As with our deposit, I don't know about it being protected? And what scheme?!!!! Never been mentioned to us!

He seems like a decent enough guy & we've known him for several years, I'm 99% sure he would take our notice as a verbal one & wouldn't require a written one or else he would've requested it while on the phone, besides we don't know where he lives now, use to live near us.

well, he isn't that decent because he's broken the law! He MUST protect the deposit and he MUST tell you in which of the three schemes he has placed it. If he hasn't done this, you can sue him for 3 times its value.

this law has been in place since 2007, so a bit surprised it is all news to you. Let alone him.

you are also legally entitled to his contact details.

I hope there won't be a problem and he will return the deposit - but please, please, write that notice. Call/email him, explain that you have to do it and ask for an address.