To pro rata last months rent?

[Clydie89]

Hi all,

We moved to a temporary rental between house sale and purchase. We had already found the house we wanted /were part way through the buying process so knew it would be a short term let. We were upfront about this to potential landlords because I'd prefer to be honest (we're in Scotland so you can give 28 days notice at any point in a tenancy agreement).

The contract we had with the landlord /flat we chose had no term referenced, just ongoing rental and 28 days notice etc.

The purchase of our house went through last minute, we got the go-ahead on the Thursday and got keys on Friday. We moved in and then gave notice on the flat on Sunday once we'd moved out. The flat was empty, in perfect condition and offered back to landlord immediately.

Our 28 days notice takes us one week into a new rental month. We've paid the previous months in full when due, I was expecting when moving out that we'd pay a pro rated amount for the extra week. The landlord is now saying as it goes into the next month he wants full payment?

I've never heard of/experienced this and it's not stated in the rental agreement that I can see. Would it be normal to pay a full month's rent for only a weeks use (that we won't even be using, he'll probably have it rented again by then!)

When I’ve lived in rental properties you give a months notice from when the rent is due so if you pay on the 1st of month then that’s when you need to give notice etc. I’m not sure why to be fair but that’s what is in the contracts that I’ve had but when I’ve left early I’ve often been able to negotiate to have some of the money back if they’ve been able to rent it or want to do some work on it. He may try to say give the keys back when you move but don’t do it until the day you stop paying rent otherwise he might try to do work or move someone in while you’re still paying for it

Our contract states notice has to be given on day rent is due, this has been the same for all rentals I've had

I don't think that's normal, no. When I moved out of my last flat the tenancy ended mid-month so I paid pro-rata not the full month's rent (also in Scotland btw). I think your landlord is either at it, or doesn't understand the law.

I've had the same. When I was in the process of buying my house I was keeping an eye on dates to co-ordinate giving notice on my rental and completion with the day rent was due. I deliberately exchanged contracts a few days before rent day, gave my months notice and had a completion date for 3 weeks later (with a week overlap for moving).
Had I given notice the day after my rent was due, I would have been liable for the incomplete month and the next month.
I think your landlord is probably right about this, though in my case how to give notice was clear in my tenancy agreement.

I think the people posting above might be in England, It's different in Scotland. I moved out of a rental last week (in Scotland). We had given our 28days notice. Our rent was paid on the 30th each month, we moved out on the 8th of the month. We paid a pro-rata final payment for the final 8 days - not a full month.

I agree I've not seen an agreement where you can pro rata rent but your contract should make this clear if it's possible

We are in England but we were able to pro rata the rent, if you give the notice specified I can't see how they can argue unless it was specifically written into the contract.

This is normal in England - it’s to the end of the current rental period then a full month after that. Most people in rented coordinate things so there is only a one or two week overlap. In my case, I exchanged contracts two days before rent was due then asked for three weeks between exchange and completion, giving only a week overlap.

Having said that, it is legally your property until the end of the full month - you don’t have to hand over the keys until the end of the tenancy.

Also, the law in Scotland may be different - can you check with Shelter (or the Scottish equivalent)?

I'm a landlord in Scotland. If it's a standard tenancy agreement then you give your 4 weeks notice on any date and pay 4 weeks rent from then - so pro rata. Check the terms of your lease, but that's the standard procedure.

Yes pro rata. I calculate this according to the days of the calendar months the final 4 weeks fall in... so it would be a slight difference if 28 days / 30 or 31.

Thanks everyone. I've re read the tenancy agreement and no mention of this, just 28 days notice and agreement will be terminated etc. so going to hold my ground.

Hi all..need little help from someone in England..so we are tenants and in process of buying our house.. our rent starts from 14 every month..we have a fixed term contract with break clause of notice of one month..we have signed the contracts for our new home and need to decide on completion date. The property we are buying is vacant so the move in is going to be pretty straightforward. My question is about the last month rent. Suppose we give the notice to our landlord on 5 November. I understand we are liable for 1 month rent. So will he be charging us for rent until 15 Dec considering our next rent due date is Nov 14 or will it be pro rata rent until Dec 5. Need to understand if there is any law regarding such situation. Don’t want to discuss with my landlord as he has already increased our rent in middle of tenancy after a sudden realisation that the area rentals are higher than what he is getting. He is pretty greedy so just need to know if there is any law about this. Thanks 😊