Section 21 notice

[TheBear]

Took out a 1 year AST in Sept 2014 which contained a break clause for both sides which requires two months notice to be given but no less than 6 months into the contract.

Letting Agent delivered a S21 notice today giving us two months notice to leave and to take possession. As I understand it a S21 can be used to activate a break clause however the agent has written on it and in the covering letter that our tenancy agreement is due to expire in May 2015 which is wrong as it is Sept 2015.

The exact wording is "after 21 May 2015 Or after the end of the period of your tenancy which will next end after the expiration of 2 months from the service of this notice upon you"

Is this a valid notice as they seem to be under the impression somehow that we are simply coming to the end of the tenancy in May and wish to take possession of it.

We don't want to leave in May but in July and this will cause a big problem as our new house won't be ready.

I will contact the agent to explain and I hope they will be reasonable in granting us the extra time but if push comes to shove is it a legal notice?

[grimmac]

So you signed an agreement saying that the landlord could break the contract after 6 months as long as they give 2 months notice?

They're now giving you 2 months notice that they will be breaking the contract after 6 months.

Seems all above board to my untrained eye.

What would you say if you wanted to leave after the 6 months and gave them 2 months notice.... But they said "nope, you have to stay here until July".

You could ask nicely.. And I'd imagine if you refused to leave it would probably take until July to legally evict you.

[TooMany2cvs]

TheBear said:

Took out a 1 year AST in Sept 2014 which contained a break clause for both sides which requires two months notice to be given but no less than 6 months into the contract.

So the tenancy can be ended, with two months notice, at any time once six months from the start date have elapsed. If it was the 20th September it started, then that six months is today.

So the s21 sounds perfectly in order.

Get negotiating. Is the July date fixed in stone...? Remember that the May date is the first possible date they can commence any kind of court action to get you out, if you haven't left by that date. It will not be a quick process. If you explain the circumstances, and that there is a definite end date only two months after the May date, then they may well be reasonable, depending on the reason the tenancy is being ended.

If the landlord needs to sell, then if you explain you're quite happy accommodating any viewings, then even more likely.
OTOH, of course, if they're terminating the tenancy at the first possible chance because you've been the tenant from hell...

[TheBear]

The question I'm asking is the agent is saying our tenancy is due to expire in may which is wrong. Would they need to specify the break clause and would putting the wrong tenancy end date on the notice make it invalid?

[herewego]

TheBear said:

The question I'm asking is the agent is saying our tenancy is due to expire in may which is wrong. Would they need to specify the break clause and would putting the wrong tenancy end date on the notice make it invalid?

The statement you quoted doesn't state the contract ends in May, it states when they want you to leave.

[surveyor]

Probably need to know the wording of the break clause to be sure. But the Notice stands alone and separate to any cover letter in my opinion.

[TooMany2cvs]

TheBear said:

The question I'm asking is the agent is saying our tenancy is due to expire in may which is wrong.

March plus two months notice = May.

[Jon1967x]

I imagine the OP feels

"after 21 May 2015 Or after the end of the period of your tenancy which will next end after the expiration of 2 months from the service of this notice upon you"

should say

"after 21 Sept 2015 Or after the end of the period of your tenancy which will next end after the expiration of 2 months from the service of this notice upon you"

But the later is still the 21 May so not much choice other than negotiate.

[TooMany2cvs]

Jon1967x said:

I imagine the OP feels

"after 21 May 2015 Or after the end of the period of your tenancy which will next end after the expiration of 2 months from the service of this notice upon you"

should say

"after 21 Sept 2015 Or after the end of the period of your tenancy which will next end after the expiration of 2 months from the service of this notice upon you"

But the later is still the 21 May so not much choice other than negotiate.

The 21st May is the end of the two months notice. The "or after the end of the period" is a backside-covering in case the tenancy period's been mis-read and added up wrongly, which'd otherwise invalidate the s21.

It's nothing to do with the AST end date, because the same wording'd be used if the tenancy was on a statutory periodic basis, rather than being at a contractual breakpoint in an otherwise fixed-term.

[Jon1967x]

TooMany2cvs said:

Jon1967x said:

I imagine the OP feels

"after 21 May 2015 Or after the end of the period of your tenancy which will next end after the expiration of 2 months from the service of this notice upon you"

should say

"after 21 Sept 2015 Or after the end of the period of your tenancy which will next end after the expiration of 2 months from the service of this notice upon you"

But the later is still the 21 May so not much choice other than negotiate.

The 21st May is the end of the two months notice. The "or after the end of the period" is a backside-covering in case the tenancy period's been mis-read and added up wrongly, which'd otherwise invalidate the s21.

It's nothing to do with the AST end date, because the same wording'd be used if the tenancy was on a statutory periodic basis, rather than being at a contractual breakpoint in an otherwise fixed-term.

I'll take your word for it, I was just speculating what the OP may have felt.

Either way it feels clunky wording even for the legal profession as the two phrases either side of the or appear to be saying effectively the same thing.

[Wings]

Firstly, the Section 21 is a notice seeking re-possession, not forcing the tenant to move out, only a court can grant re-possession. So my advice to the OP is presently to say nothing to the agent or landlord, let the notice period elapse, and after that date for the agent or landlord to consider if it is worth proceeding to court for repossession.

One needs to read the break clause within the tenancy agreement, see whether correct Section 21 Notice served, and if correct dates was used in the Section 21 Notice , together with if the tenancy Deposit was protected and prescribed information served to the OP