This is a question to the blog clinic from Kathy (not her real name) who is a tenant in England.

We’ve signed an AST that rolled into a contractual periodic tenancy (CPT). The notice period is 2 months for the landlord and tenant.

We didn’t realise that it would turn into a CPT and assumed that the legislation applied, that is, that it becomes an automatic statutory periodic tenancy (SPT) on a monthly basis where notice is 1 month.

We’ve been with the landlord for several years and gave 1 months’ notice, but she’s referred us to the clause.

Upon reviewing the situation, the notice period for the landlord is 2 months as required by the legislation, but double for us as tenants. Do we have grounds to argue it’s an unfair term and unenforceable? Thank you in advance.

Answer

The significance of the notice period is not whether or not the landlord can force you to stay in the property – she cannot physically stop you from moving out. The significance is your liability for rent after giving notice.

Or, if you move out without giving notice, how much rent you are liable for in lieu of notice.

If you are able to give two months’ notice, then it is best to do that as it avoids problems. However, if this is not possible and you need to vacate on the date given in your notice, then the landlord can either:

• Accept the situation
• Require you to pay the additional month’s rent – and deduct this from your deposit or
• Say that your notice was defective and that no proper notice was given, meaning that you need to pay two months’ rent in lieu of notice when you vacate. Your deposit will not be sufficient to cover this, but she will start by making a deposit deduction.

So, this will probably boil down to what she deducts from your deposit.

What to do if a deduction is made from your deposit

If you vacate on the date given in your notice and the landlord deducts a further month’s rent from your deposit money (or more), then you should challenge this and ask for the deduction to be referred to adjudication.

All the deposit schemes have a free adjudication service. You can find out more about it on your scheme website. Note that there are time limits so make sure you deal with this promptly.

You will need to object on the basis that the landlord is unfairly claiming an additional month’s notice, more than you would be liable for if the tenancy were a statutory periodic tenancy. Which means that the clause is unfair under Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

It will then be down to the adjudicator and whether they agree with you or not. I suspect that they will agree.

And finally

Note that this post will be redundant after the Renters Rights Bill becomes law, as all tenancies will become statutory periodics.

The post Can a contractual periodic tenancy require a tenant to give two months’ notice? appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

I write this while the Renters Rights Bill is making its way through Parliament.

It has reached the House of Lords, and we are currently waiting for the date for the committee state to be announced.

It is at the committee states in both the Lords and the Commons that most amendments to bills are made.

However there is a difference between an amendment being proposed and actually making it and becoming part of the bill.

Government and Members’ amendments

It is open to any MP to submit a draft amendment to be considered for a bill. That amendment can either be accepted or rejected.  However, for it to be a part of the final bill it has to have been agreed by both houses.  The government will also usually have their own amendments – these are far more likely to reach the statute book!

Where the government has a big majority, as is the case at the moment, any amendment which is not a government amendment is unlikely to be voted through.

Amendments in the House of Lords

Then there is the ‘Salisbury Doctrine’.   This is a convention which ensures that major government bills will get through the Lords if it is putting into effect a government manifesto commitment.

The Renters Rights Bill was an important part of the Labour Party manifesto in 2024, and so is certain to become law.

This is what the manifesto said:

Security also means having a secure roof over your head. That is not the case for too many renting their homes privately. Labour will legislate where the Conservatives have failed, overhauling the regulation of the private rented sector. We will immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, empower them to challenge unreasonable rent increases, and take steps to decisively raise standards, including extending ‘Awaab’s Law to the private sector.

So, none of those issues can be blocked by the Lords.

Ping pong

This is when amendments go back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords in the final stages of the bill’s progress through Parliament until a form of wording is agreed.

However, as the current government has such a large majority, it will inevitably get the bill in the form that it wants.

And finally

This means that when reading proposed amendments to a bill you need to look and see whether it is a member amendment or a government amendment.

If it is a government amendment, it will almost certainly be voted through. If it is a member amendment, almost certainly not, unless it is accepted by the government.

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