Breaking a 6 month lease.

DeadMoney

Hey, i am signed in to a 6month lease due to end in just over 1 month's time. I am just wondering where I stand if I need to get out of it a few weeks before it ends. I am on good terms with my landlady and as its not an agency or anything I am hoping she might not object to letting me go early and refunding my deposit, as long as I give her some notice. In the contract however it says 1 month's notice is required but I thought I read somewhere that you only had to give 2 weeks? Anyway, can anybody please tell me what is the required notice time by law, and if I do not give the full 4 weeks as stated in the contract, is my landlady entitled to hold on to my deposit?

Thanks

Agent J

If youve signed a contact it takes precedent.

The law is the Minimum needed not the max.

Talk to your landlady about it, she might be ok with it but she doenst have to be.

Cathmandooo

Firstly talk to your landlady, if you're on good terms then she might be fine with letting you go early.

If she says no then you're legally bound to pay your full 6 months rent. You can leave whenever you want to but you still have to pay. Give her the notice that you agreed to on signing your lease.

DeadMoney

Cathooo wrote: »

Firstly talk to your landlady, if you're on good terms then she might be fine with letting you go early.

If she says no then you're legally bound to pay your full 6 months rent. You can leave whenever you want to but you still have to pay. Give her the notice that you agreed to on signing your lease.

Yeah I'm gonna contact her this week and hopefully she might let me go early. On the lease it says "1 months notice prior to termination of agreement must be given by either landlady or tenants". I am just wondering does this refer to breaking the lease before the 6 month period has ended, or does it refer to after the 6 months have passed and the lease is up.

Cathmandooo

Deadmoney2 wrote: »

Yeah I'm gonna contact her this week and hopefully she might let me go early. On the lease it says "1 months notice prior to termination of agreement must be given by either landlady or tenants". I am just wondering does this refer to breaking the lease before the 6 month period has ended, or does it refer to after the 6 months have passed and the lease is up.

It means from the end of your 5th month you can hand in the 1 month's notice afaik.

DeadMoney

Thanks, just another thing, when I moved in last September I paid a security deposit and one weeks rent in lue. In other words I had to pay 2 weeks rent at the start of my tenancy as one weeks rent was to keep the rent one week ahead. I was and still am not really familiar with how this works. I am assuming that this means that I do not have to pay my last weeks rent as there has already been an extra week paid from the start. Does this sound right?

Cathmandooo

Have you been paying monthly or weekly since?

It's not that your 'not paying' for your last week, you'll be paying it in advance like you always have done. Day 1 you paid 1 weeks rent and a security deposit, that rent was to cover day 1 to 7. I assume you then paid more rent on Day 7/8, that was for day 8 - 14 and so on.

Your landlady will inspect the premises when you're moving out and if all bills are fully paid and the property is in a similar shape to when you moved in then you'll be returned your security deposit.

Ste.phen

If, at the start, you paid a deposit and 2 weeks rent and at the end of your first week paid another week's rent, then yes: your last weeks rent is already paid.

Cathmandooo

Ste.phen wrote: »

If, at the start, you paid a deposit and 2 weeks rent and at the end of your first week paid another week's rent, then yes: your last weeks rent is already paid.

Sorry I took it to mean the security deposit was 1 weeks rent and he paid a weeks rent in advance?

DeadMoney

Cathooo wrote: »

Sorry I took it to mean the security deposit was 1 weeks rent and he paid a weeks rent in advance?

Sorry, probably confused you the way I explained it. Yes, it was two weeks rent and a security deposit. So I am one week ahead of the rent, thus the last week will be paid before I move out.