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Original poster

Unreasonable notice period

11 replies

StressedFTB · 19/04/2018 09:58

We're long term renters and have finally got together a deposit etc. and have had an offer accepted on a house.

The problem is that our landlord forced us onto a 3 month tenancy. At the end of our initial 12 month AST he insisted on renewing for an additional 12 months, when it came time to sign we objected to the fact that we were moving from the standard, end of AST one month rolling notice period back to a 3 month notice period which would make it impossible to move on without massive risk or overlapping rent. He basically said that since our tenancy was about to expire we had to either renew or accept that he would serve 1 months notice on us (a few days before we left on holiday, just before Christmas).

I'm now face with either giving notice now on the assumption that the house purchase will go through ok or waiting until we exchange and having to deal with 2/3 months of doubled housing costs which I'm not sure we can afford.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

OP posts:

UpLighter · 19/04/2018 11:11

Are you within the contract period?
If out of contract period can only enforce one months notice.

UpLighter · 19/04/2018 11:12

And legally he would need to give you two months notice to vacate when it came to end of your contract period.

Tulips2lips · 19/04/2018 11:16

A long as gap as possible between exchange and completion would be the way to go if acceptable to your seller. Hand in your notice once you have exchanged (don't do it before then unless you are 100% OK with kipping on friends/relatives/airbnb floors for n months)

UpLighter · 19/04/2018 12:32

Unless the 12 month tenancy was signed in December 2017 which would mean op is in contract until dec 2018 in which case it is best referring to contract to see if there is a break clause in it.

Original poster

StressedFTB · 19/04/2018 14:50

We're within the contract period so it looks like we're screwed...
I guess we'll just have to do something creative with airbnb/foreign language students to try to cover the gap.

Just really angry with myself for letting this guy bully me into signing this contract. In any other situation I would have told him to jog on but when it's your family home you're immediately on the back foot.

I'm just sickened at the greed - he's made a vast amount of money, both in the doubling of the value of the house since he bought it ten years ago and the massive amount of rent gets in - but he's forcing me and my family to take all of the risk.

OP posts:

specialsubject · 19/04/2018 20:45

England? Didn't you know that his notice to you is two months and even then he would have to go to court to evict?

I'm a landlord. Give a month's notice when you exchange and let him sue. How are the other legals?

OlennasWimple · 19/04/2018 20:51

OK, put all of this to one side (it's ridiculous and incorrect, and frankly none of your business)

What does your contract - the one that you signed recently - actually say regarding end point and notice periods?

PaintedHorizons · 21/04/2018 10:27

Greed? I am sure you negotiated down the price as hard as you could on your purchase. Did you offer over asking? Or under - and banked on the fact that the market is uncertain and the sellers of your new house needed to sell?

And it'll be interesting when you become house owners yourselves and find out that you have to mend the boiler, maintain the roof, pay for buildings insurance and then find it costs an arm and a leg to move if the neighbours suddenly decide to erect an eyesore in their garden.

Also interesting that you want to get foreign language students in to cover your costs - so you have no real issue with being landlords yourselves.

The practical question is a fair one but the assumption that the landlord is simply greedy is unfir and unpleasant.

UpLighter · 21/04/2018 17:20

Fully agree with last two comments.

As with all 'sections' of humanity you get some good and some bad.

Some crap landlords and some great ones

Some crap tenants and some great ones.

specialsubject · 21/04/2018 18:20

The sheep like guardian reader anti landlord comments were too pathetic to deal with. Didn't spot the sudden flexible stance on being a landlord when the op needs cash . How funny.

johnd2 · 21/04/2018 19:22

Never mind the past, basically you can try to get someone else to rent your old place for the intervening time.
We had a pain landlord, the first year he tried to renew for another 12 months and we said we prefer rolling, then he said it was served notice by the agent at the start for some reason. We assumed it was not something he wanted. Then he mentioned after that there would be a rent increase after we agreed to stay.
Then after a year he said we needed to sign another 12 months if we wanted to stay. He had no recollection of the previous conversation and insisted there was no flexibility on length of term or rolling contract.
Come the next year we just found somewhere else and let him know we wouldn't be staying, then he was all "oh why didn't you let me know we could have sorted something out" we were like "oh yeah like last year".
But there was nothing anyone could do about either, some land lords are a pain and some tenants the same (we felt no guilt whatsoever)
Unfortunately sounds like you have one.

When we were buying a house we just waited until we looked like we were going to exchange and let the landlord know then. We showed plenty of new people round and found someone and the landlord was happy to change over to them when ours ran out.

Not sure how helpful that is but best of luck.

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