advice please
hi all. we live in a rented house but are looking to move. we paid our rent on the 22nd and our tenancy agreement ended on 25th the agents havent even been in touch with a new agreement to sign. we have found a house and would need to move in 2 weeks (a whole other story!! argh) do you think they would give us half a months rent back??? we have no agreement so that kind of works for and against us!!
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Replies
I'm assuming that your tenancy agreement is an assured shorthold tenancy agreement? This is the standard type -so I'll assume you are.
No new agreement is irrelevent to be honest - you are still bound by the terms of your tenancy agreement - it is just that it has gone from being a fixed term agreement (six monthly or twelve monthly I'd assume) to being a periodic agreement that renews on a month by month basis. This means that you are still bound by the terms of your agreement which I assume include a months notice.
You currently aren't bound by a fixed term which is in your favour, but I would be very surprised if your agreement doesn't state that you have to give a months notice.
If you simply moved out at the end of your fixed term then you would be ok - as you are entitled to do that (although that is a pretty little known fact) but you are still there after the end of your term so are stuck with giving a months notice.
Its worth asking them to see if you can get your rent back but I doubt you will as the landlord will expect their months notice. If you gave them notice straight away and they manage to let the house and move someone in inside your months notice after you have moved out then you would be entitled to a refund from the time the new tenants moved in.
Hope that helps and makes sense
If you have found a new place and agreed everything you really need to give your notice in to your agents asap - probably in writing as well - our company will only accept notice in writing. Assuming that you have to give 1 months notice, the sooner you give it the better really because the longer you leave it the more you could end up liable for in rent.
I'd have thought your agent should be able to give you a rent statement confirming exactly what dates you have paid from and to so that you know exactly what you owe.
Hope that helps again..
[Modified by: kia on November 26, 2007 03:40 PM]
[Modified by: kia on November 26, 2007 03:41 PM]