End of fixed-term tenancy
Assured shorthold tenancy agreement usually has the term of 6 or 12 months. Upon ending fixed term tenant(s) may stay in property or leave without any notice at last day. If rental agreement has tenant's obligation to serve a notice at the end of fixet-term contract such clause is considered as unfair term.
End of periodic tenancy
If the tenancy contract doesn’t contain fixed term or tenant(s) wishes to remain in the property after the fixed period than contract is considered as a statutory periodic tenancy. In this case minimum notice period to quit is 28 days or 4 weeks.
If the tenant give insufficient notice period he would probably be has to pay the rent up to the end of the notice period that he or she should have given.
Notice more then one month
It is still within the scope of the law to set up a notice periode more then one month in tenancy contract just in case of:
- it is a periodic contract from the beginning
- fixed-term tenancy contract has a clause like "when the fixed term expires the tenancy will continue as a statutory periodic tenancy'"
End residential tenancy before expiring of fixed term
Some tenancy agreement may have a break clause that let landlord or tenant terminate tenancy agreement before fixed term but could be applied after 6 month after contract starts.
However, according Housing Act, landlord could be granted the possession order just in case the tenancy lasts 6 or more months from the beginning.
If the landlord uses one of the seventeen statutory grounds to evict the tenant then Section 8 Notice must be used. Section 8 Notice is used to get right to possesses a property in case of breaching tenancy agreement, for example, not-paying the rent. Court order for possession usually is sought in case of tenant refuses to leave a property after the proper notice had been given. Prior seeking possession order landlord must serve a notice to the tenant with a final rent reminder letter.
Landlord’s notice for tenancies began before 1st Oct 2015
If the landlord is seeking to possess his premises after the fixed term then proper notice
- must be served to the tenant not less than 2 months
- can not require that tenant(s) leaving the property earlier then contract’s fixed term expired.
- must be given in writing form
In case of periodic tenancy where the fixed term wasn’t specified landlord:
- must give a notice where the last date of tenancy is a last day of period of tenancy(for example, last day of month or last day of week in case of period is week)
- must be served to the tenant not less than 2 months according Housing Act 1988, section 21(4)(a):
that the landlord or, in the case of joint landlords, at least one of them has given to the tenant a notice [F4in writing] stating that, after a date specified in the notice, being the last day of a period of the tenancy and not earlier than two months after the date the notice was given, possession of the dwelling-house is required by virtue of this section; and
(b)that the date specified in the notice under paragraph (a) above is not earlier than the earliest day on which, apart from section 5(1) above, the tenancy could be brought to an end by a notice to quit given by the landlord on the same date as the notice under paragraph (a) above.
- may use Form 6a may as a notice seeking possession.
Landlord notice for new tenancies after 1st Oct 2015
Theses rules apply to the new and renewed(after 1st Oct 2015) tenancies. Landlord must serve a notice:
- in “prescribed form”, sample is Form 6A
- must give at least a minimum of 2 calendar months notice
- notice can not be served within first 4 month from the beginning of tenancy
If the tenant refuse to leave the property landlord have right to seek the possession order to the court within 6 month of the service of the notice or within 4 months of the expiry of the notice if the notice period was longer than 2 months.