How much notice should I give to leave?

Q

I have been renting a property for the last two years
and I am presently in a rollover tenancy, my initial tenancy was for six
months. I pay my rent on the 15th of each month. I recently  gave my landlord a month's notice on the 25th
April to move out on the 25th May, however, I have been told that it
should be given on my rent due date of the 15th and I must also give
two months' notice. I really need to move out, is this correct?

A

Once a fixed period Assured Shorthold Tenancy rolls
over, past it's fixed term period, then the tenancy becomes a periodic tenancy,
and if the rent is paid monthly, then EACH month becomes a statutory periodic
tenancy, the same legislated for under the Housing Act 1988.

The Housing Act clearly states the landlord must
give the tenant two months written notice (normally by Section 21, this is
different to the Section 21 Notice during a fixed term), however, a tenant can
give notice by way of the same way they pay rent. Therefore, as you pay
monthly, you only need to give a month's notice, in writing.

The dates are important and this is where your
landlord is correct, you must give notice on your rent due date. Your rent due
date (assuming the day you pay rent is the same as your rent due date on your
tenancy agreement) is the 15th, so notice will start from the next
15th to expire on the 14th. In your case you gave notice
on the 25th April, the next rent due date would be the 15th
May and this would be when your month's notice would commence for you to vacate
on the 14th June.

Check ou the latest on Washing machines exploding with pictures and model numbers.

also recently reported on BBC Watchdog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/indesit-hotpoint-exploding-washing-machine

Update on electrical appliances warning (further to my blog earlier this month)

A letter is now going around to key Letting Agents warning of the dangers of appliances in rented homes from Dorset Fire and Rescue Services who are reporting they have attended 7 dishwasher fires relating to the overheating component in certain dishwashers in the last 12 months!

Makes being warned about are Beko, Bosch, Seimens, Neff and Hotpoint.

Since 2010 there have been 269 reported fires originating from an appliance. Bosch have allegedly sent 800,000 letters and made 150,000 telephone calls, of the known 632,000 appliances there are still 479,000 unaccounted for.

Bosch,Beko,Seimens,Hotpoint are among the brands issuing warnings.

Landlords and Letting Agents are being advised to look at the electrical products in their properties after a number of fires have been attributed to white goods. 

You can find out further information by going to the following sites;

Electrical Safety Council (ESC): www.esc.org.uk/recall. You will need to enter a model number, brand name or description of a particular item. If the product has been recalled, the website will advise on your next steps.

Recall UK is the primary product recall site that lists all UK product recalls, for all product types, announced in the last few weeks: www.recalluk.com

As of 1^st January 2013, all rented properties that have a gas central heating boiler flue that has either been fitted hidden in the ceiling space or fitted away from an external wall must now be fitted with an inspection hatch. If your boiler is situated on an outside wall it is unlikely that you have this type of flue and if you can see the entire flue it will not affect you, your gas engineer will be able to tell you.

All gas engineers must now be able to inspect the whole length of the flue, in line with industry guidance. If they are unable to fully inspect the flue it must be deemed at ‘At Risk’ (recommending to not use)and the engineer will ask for consent to turn it off. You are within your rights to refuse permission for it to be turned off; however you will be asked to sign paperwork to confirm you accept responsibility for those defects identified in the system – which would be the possible leak of carbon monoxide escaping unnoticed from the concealed flue into the property.

You may be able to go back to the builder if it is less than two years and look to the home warrantee if less than 10 years.

What it does mean is the gas engineer will not be able to provide a Gas Safety Certificate until an inspection hatch has been fitted and they have inspected the whole flue and as a landlord you must by law have a Gas Safety Certificate in place to rent a property out and this must be renewed every year.

If you have any questions on this or other aspects on rental management then please contact Move On 01202 711169 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The HMRC have given a deadline to all property owners who received a rental income either here in the UK or abroad. This applies to any property that is not a main residence, including holiday homes. They have pledged to crack down on any buy-to-let property owners who are trying to get away with capital gains tax avoidance.

Marian Wilson, head of HMRC campaigns, said: “Some people will not understand that selling a second home, a holiday home or a property disposed of as a gift could attract Capital Gains Tax”.

 HMRC can find out about sales of property from land registry records, advertising, changes in reporting of rental income, stamp duty land tax (SDLT) returns, capital gains tax (CGT) returns, bank transfers and other ways.

People have until August 9 to tell HMRC about any unpaid capital gains tax on property sales and must pay any tax owed by September 6. Until this date, fines will be smaller for those who haven't paid their tax. It is hoped this will encourage more landlords to come clean.

Marian Wilson advises: "It is better to come to us before we come to you. After the opportunity closes on 6 September, HMRC will use information it holds about property sales in the UK and abroad to identify people who have not paid what they owe. Penalties or even criminal prosecution could follow."

People don't need to be concerned about the sale of their main home, which is usually exempt from CGT. 

If you have any questions on this or other aspects on rental management then please contact Move On 01202 711169 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .