Moving from rented and giving notice.

[TinyGoldfish]

We've had an offer accepted on a flat! At what stage should I give notice on the flat I'm currently renting?

I want to be in a fairly secure position but surely I can't wait until exchange? I need to give two months notice.

Do not give notice until exchange! You leave yourself in a very vulnerable position if you give notice before you have exchanged.

Anyone in the chain can pull out before exchange, there may be problems with the title or searches which delays matters, someone wants work done that has been highlighted in their survey or tries to renegotiate the price etc etc. You could be homeless for an indefinite period and it can be difficult trying to find a short term let.

Can you afford to pay for both? Two months for you sounds excessive though, usually it is one for tenant and two for ll . Check your agreement.

Very unlikely you will need to give two months notice, despite what it might say in your tenancy agreement. As long as you are over your initial fixed term (usually 6 months) you only need to give a months notice. One thing which might help is to tell everyone - solicitor, estate agent etc - that you will need a month between exchange and completion just so it's not a suprise

Very risky to give notice before exchange.

Are you on a rolling contract or a fixed term? England / wales?,

We've been here a few years. It's run by a managing agency so we've never spoken directly to the ll. Because they're a big agency I feel like they do everything 'by the book' but I could call and ask?

The chain is very small - just us and them, so that's a bonus? Except I get the feeling she wants to get everything done and dusted asap.

daisy and special: contract is renewed every year. England.

As above definitely don't give notice until you exchange.
We had a good relationship with our landlord and he agreed to give us back 2 weeks of our 1 month notice if he was able to get a new tenant for that time. Maybe when you hand in your notice see if that's an option?
Otherwise you can use that notice period to get any work done in your new place before you move in.

I wouldn't assum they do everything by the book (I'm an estate agent myself) lots of companies have some shocking ideas on what is and isn't legal! If you're on a rolling AST in England or Wales you only have to give a months notice. If it says different in your contract it's still not enforceable so just give them one month. If you're really getting pressured to get things through fast, as another poster said maybe have a two week overlap? So you exchange then complete two weeks later but it leaves you another two weeks on your tenancy to give you time to get moved and clean etc

Cross posted. You need to check if you're on a fixed term contract as this will have an impact on when you can give notice

Thanks all. That's really helpful advice.

Could cope with a crossover of a few weeks, like you said - it mght even be useful.

I'll dig out my contract as well and check out the details. I didn't know only one month was enforceable on a rolling contract - that's really good to know.

Buying a house has made me realise how shockingly little I actually know!

If contract is renewed into a fixed term then the two months may.apply.

I would speak to the managing agents asap and ask what notice they expect. I agree some seem to make up their own rules. In particular agernts seem to vary as to whether two months notice is enforceable.

It is important to check when you can give notice. It may be that it is a month, but a month from the day the rent is payable, which could end up being two months.

As a landlord I like tenants to tell me what is going on at an early stage. We can then try to dove-tail. For example if I can start marekting the flat (and they keep it looking lovely) it can be that we find new tenants who want to take over when they want to move out. So a reduced notice period for them and no void for me.