UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi there,

I have 2 questions:

1)            I have received the following notice from my tenants and would like to know whether it is a valid one in the way it is composed:-

"Friday 6th November, 2015
Dear xxxxxxxxx,
Re: Notice of intention to leave
Please accept this as a formal notice of our intention to leave the property xxxxxxxxxxxxx Court, xxxxxxxxxx Road. London. XXXX XXX. We are currently completing the purchase of a property and do yet have confirmed our move date, but in any case it will be no later than Wednesday 6th January.
As detailed in the terms of our tenancy agreement, we will carry out any necessary cleaning or remedial work on the property to leave it in a good state of repair, less any reasonable wear and tear, prior to vacation. We will confirm with you our contact details for the return of our deposit prior to leaving xxxxxxxxxxx Court.
Yours sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

2) The Notice was served by way of an e-mail and not as specifically prescribed within the contract, namely :-

"Notice under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 – the Tenant is hereby notified that notices (including notices in proceedings) must be served on the Landlord by the Tenant at the following address: (a solicitors' address in England and Wales included)       

To shed some light, I agreed to switch the tenancy from fixed term to periodic tenancy at the end of the fixed term period to allow my tenants much needed flexibility with purchasing their first home. My one and only requirement was for them to give me a 2 months notice as I am currently abroad and with a small baby and need time to react to any notice they serve me with. I would have never agreed to give up financial security by switching to periodic tenancy for nothing in return. I simply wanted to help them without infringing my interests. I was surprised to find out they are seeking to rely on the statutory one months notice applicable with periodic tenancies - they want to move out sometime between 14-18 December.

For information, the fixed term period ran 12 months less one day - from 26 July 2014 to 24 July 2015. Since then we have a periodic tenancy. By serving  me with a notice on 6 November, that takes the one month's notice to 24th December, so they are liable to pay rent until then. However, it is quite important for me that the notice goes beyond that date into January to enable me to arrive back in the UK and do viewings, inventories etc. So here is a question:-

3) Provided the notice they have served me with is invalid on technicalities, can I serve them with a counter one month notice on, say, 27 November to take us through to January 24th?

Apologies for the long message. I am a little bit angry for having to drag my baby across Europe just before Christmas to suit my tenants plans.

I look forward to hearing from you,

BB

Well, as you clearly state and already understand yourself, you can't insist on a 2 month notice as their statutory rights override that.

I'd be more understanding... they're likely excited if they're buying their first home. I would let it wash over you and pretend you aren't bothered by it all. It's the bigger thing to do. Your problems aren't their problems at the end of the day. Yes, you can certainly try and go to technicalities... most people prefer communication via email these days, to be fair, rather than snail mail, especially to third parties... so it comes across as a little unreasonable, but I would accept that, yes, it is clearly documented so you could claim the notice is not valid... a big person would tell them now, though, not just serve some kind of counter notice when it suits you best.

I would take a deep breath.

Tenants move on. It's often not personal. It's just life, it's business. Hope that helps?

Thank you for your input.

Honestly, I am sincerely thrilled for them, they are a nice couple and I am happy I have helped them achieve something of great importance to them as a young family. I let my guard down legally and financially, relying purely on a gentlemen's agreement because I like them and we have had a good relationship so far. However, there appears to be little consideration for my position as a single mother having to live abroad to survive financially, heavily reliant on the rental income. How would a gap in rental income affect me? Can I travel to the UK just before Christmas to do viewings? How inconvenient would that be with a small baby? It would have been nice to know people care the way I do for them. There is more to it than just business.

I believe I have already been quite generous in allowing them the necessary flexibility a periodic tenancy provides so that they can step on the property ladder – I myself was there some time ago. Also I have agreed to not increase their rent (over £200 less than the current market rental value) in exchange for a peace of mind – the two months notice that is so important in my case. Over the last 5 months they have effectively made a saving of over £1000 in rent at my expense, the two months notice would mean giving less than half of it back - basically covering the period from Christmas to January 6th when the two months notice under our "gentlemen's" agreement would expire.

I accept I am an idiot for not protecting my position legally. Just because I liked them and I wanted to help. I feel I should not have agreed to switch to periodic tenancy but ask them to leave and find other tenants on a fixed term basis. A lesson learned.

My intention is to serve the counter notice and then hold them to their word – i.e. to ask them to pay rent up until January 6th. I would not expect them to pay up to the expiry of the counter notice (Jan 24th) as that would be cruel.

To  conclude:-
1)   Is their notice valid the way it is composed? I can't help but notice there is no exact date of vacating the property given there. Anything else?
2)   I understand I can serve a counter notice on the basis of their notice not being served in accordance with the requirements within our contract. Thank you for confirming this.

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you.
BB

Listen - my opinion is that you've got this all wrong and about-face.

You didn't allow them to have a SPT - one would have automatically arisen had they not wished to sign a new fixed term anyway. You didn't do them any favours - you're charging them rent! It's a business relationship first and foremost unless they're your personal friends. If you'd not allowed them to go periodic then they may just have left earlier anyway... which you probably didn't want either. So, don't look a gift horse in the mouth... you say you're charging them >£200 less than the market rate, so let them go, be happy for them, and start charging what the property is worth - you'll make it back in no time if the property is going to let for that money. Saying they've made "a saving of £1,000 over the last 5 months" is simply ludicrous - they've paid what the rent was... no less and certainly no more.

All you are doing now is working hard to leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth when this tenancy concludes.

You sound too emotionally invested in this tenancy for my liking. In addition, you should not be in a position of financial hardship if you have a void period - that is part-and-parcel of being a Landlord. You should be able to absorb 3 months without rent coming in, at least.

As I said earlier, I do think you can push this whichever way you choose. If you want to go all 'letter of the law' then you have 2 points in your favour (2 that matter)... the first being that the notice you will not accept wasn't served via the correct medium (hard for them to refer to the terms of the Tenancy Agreement if they're not following it in their email), the second being that the notice cannot be nebulous like this, you're correct... it must be specific - "we will be leaving on X"... but it's really all by-the-by in my mind.

Also, you're not an idiot for not protecting yourself legally... and don't fret about Tenants being on a SPT - most Landlords prefer this to a fixed term.

Your course of action is just going to get their backs-up, I fear. This could mean that they are feisty about the deposit return - everything is fine there, isn't it? You protected it, on time, you served the Prescribed Information and scheme leaflet (terms and conditions) and have proof of all this, right?

Yes, I have protected the deposit, they have been contacted by the DPS and have been registered there as the tenants paying that deposit. There is a clause within the contract going re deposit - see below. I would think that is enough or have I missed something? Finally, I am not in a position to afford a 3 month rent gap, otherwise why live abroad with a newlyborn?

Here is what the contract states re: deposit:-

"6.   TENANCY DEPOSIT
6.1   The Deposit of £1100 is paid by the Tenant to the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent.
6.2   The Landlord or the Landlord's Agent is a member of the Deposit Protection Service and undertakes to submit the deposit to the Scheme.
6.3   Any interest earned will belong to the Tenant.
6.4   The Deposit has been taken for the following purposes:-
6.4.1   Any damage, or compensation for damage, to the premises its fixtures and fittings or for missing items for which the tenant may be liable, subject to an apportionment or allowance for fair wear and tear, the age and condition of each and any such item at the commencement of the tenancy, insured risks and repairs that are the responsibility of the landlord.
6.4.2   The reasonable costs incurred in compensating the Landlord for, or for rectifying or remedying any major breach by the Tenant of the Tenant's obligations under the tenancy agreement, including those relating to the cleaning of the premises, its fixtures and fittings.
6.4.3   Any unpaid accounts for utilities or water charges or environmental services or other similar services or Council Tax incurred at the property for which the tenant is liable.
6.4.4   Any rent or other money due or payable by the tenant under the tenancy agreement of which the tenant has been made aware and which remains unpaid after the end of the tenancy.
6.4.5   Protection of the deposit
The Deposit is safeguarded by the Deposit Protection Service.
6.5   The Landlord or the Landlord's Agent must tell the tenant within 10 working days of the end of the tenancy if they propose to make any deductions from the Deposit.
6.6   If there is no dispute the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent will keep or repay the Deposit, according to the agreed deductions and the conditions of the tenancy agreement.  Payment of the Deposit or any balance of it will be made within 10 working days of the Landlord and the Tenant agreeing the allocation of the Deposit.
6.7   The Tenant should try to inform the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent in writing if the Tenant intends to dispute any of the deductions regarded by the Landlord or the Agent as due from the deposit within 20 working days after the termination or earlier ending of the Tenancy and the Tenant vacating the property.  The Independent Case Examiner ("ICE") may regard failure to comply with the time limit as a breach of the rules of DPS and if the ICE is later asked to resolve any dispute may refuse to adjudicate in the matter.
6.8   If, after 10 working days following notification of a dispute to the Agent and reasonable attempts having been made in that time to resolve any differences of opinion, there remains an unresolved dispute between the Landlord and the Tenant over the allocation of the Deposit the dispute will (subject to 6.9 below) be submitted to the ICE for adjudication. All parties agree to co-operate with the adjudication.
6.9   The statutory rights of the Landlord and the Tenant to take legal action through the County Court remain unaffected by clauses (6.7 and 6. above.
6.10   If the amount in dispute is over £5,000 the Landlord and the Tenant agree to submit to formal arbitration through the engagement of an arbitrator appointed by the ICE although, with the written agreement of both parties, the ICE may at his discretion accept the dispute for adjudication. The appointment of an arbitrator will incur an administration fee, to be fixed by the Board of The Deposit Protection Service from time to time, shared equally between the Landlord and the Tenant; the liability for any subsequent costs will be dependent upon the award made by the arbitrator."
END OF CITATION

Thanks again!
BB

Well, I was hoping that you would confirm you'd protected it within 30 days (of the deposit being received) and you'd served, and have evidence of doing so, the Prescribed Information on the Tenant (hopefully getting their signature on a copy that you retain) as well as the DPS Terms and Conditions?

But ff you're sure it's OK, then I am too... the last thing you want if you're intentionally going to annoy someone is to find out you're on the receiving end of a claim for 1x to 3x the deposit for not protecting it correctly - all through their spite because you enforced the agreement as you plan to... I just wanted to ensure that everything was above board there before you went down that path.

I - genuinely - have no idea why you're living abroad with a newlyborn... is that relevant to what we're discussing? I figured it was just personal choice? Are you implying that it's got something to do with your finances? Is it cheaper to live abroad? I really don't know what's being said here. I picked up on that comment before but I was going to reply that your problems aren't your Tenant's problems - because it might be an inconvenience to you travelling with a newborn near Christmas, that's evidently not got anything to do with them (while that might sound kinda brutal, it's not meant to be, it's just a statement).