About Notices to Quit
A Notice to Quit is a notice served either by a landlord or a tenant to end a tenancy. It is, however, a specific type of notice, so you should not use this term for section 8 or section 21 notices, which are different.
Landlords’ Notices to Quit are forbidden for assured and assured shorthold tenancies in England under s5 of the Housing Act 1988 and for Welsh Occupation Contracts under s232 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. They are now mostly used for common law tenancies.
Tenant’s Notices to Quit, though, are allowed – this is the name for the notice served by tenants when they want to end their tenancy.
Note – this post is primarily about English law, but I will be using some examples from the new Welsh legislation.
The rules that govern tenants’ Notices to Quit are mostly common law rules. This often confuses tenants who demand to know where they can find them written down in legislation. The nearest they get to this (at the moment) is the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, which provides that:
- The notice must be in writing, and
- It must give not less than 4 weeks’ notice
Tenants can only use a Notice to Quit to end a periodic tenancy. They cannot end a fixed term by Notice to Quit or at all unless the landlord agrees.
However, once the Renters Rights Bill becomes law, it is anticipated that ALL tenancies will be periodic as the act is due to ban fixed terms. For assured tenancies anyway, which will become the main tenancy type in England.
What does the Renters Rights Bill say about Notices to Quit?
The main two clauses are s19 and s20.
Section 19 amends the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 by saying that tenants Notices to Quit for assured tenancies must give not less than two months’ notice, ending at the end of a ‘period of the tenancy’. Changing the current minimum 28-day notice period in the Protection from Eviction Act.
Section 20 says that landlords cannot specify the form a tenant’s notice to quit must take, and also allows for the notice to be withdrawn if the landlord and tenant agree in writing.
So this clears up a few of the questions people have about tenant notices. However there are still a few things which could usefully be clarified.
The effect of a Notice to Quit served by one of joint tenants
Under the current law, a notice to quit served by one of joint tenants ends the tenancy for everyone (even if the other tenants did not know about it). So, if the remaining tenants want to stay, they will have to reach a new agreement with the landlords.
Although, under s54(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (which provides that tenancies with a term of less than 3 years can be created without a written deed) a tenancy will be created automatically if they pay rent which the landlord accepts.
However, if a replacement tenant moves in, the landlord will (if he is sensible) need to issue a new tenancy agreement and deal with deposit issues (assuming there is a deposit).
In Wales, the new legislation provides that one of joint contract holders can leave without ending the contract for the other contract holders, and prescribed forms are available for this situation.
The remaining contract holders also have the right to add a new contract holder, which the landlord can only object to on ‘reasonable grounds’.
It would be good if the English legislation could deal with this issue so people have clarity.
Tenants failing to move out after serving a Notice to Quit
This can be extremely annoying for landlords. Often, they will have lined up new tenants and maybe also tradespeople to go in and do inspections and repair work believing the property will be empty when the tenants vacate.
If the tenants then don’t vacate, this will
- Cause enormous inconvenience to the new tenants who will be preparing to move into what they believe will be their new home, and
- Make the landlord liable for callout charges from tradespeople who will no longer get access.
Tenants failing to honour their notice to quit has the following potential consequences in English law;
- The landlord can bring proceedings for possession based on the fact that the tenancy has ended and the tenant has not moved out
- The Distress for Rent Act 1737 provides that landlords can charge double rent.
However, neither of these remedies are well known. I understand that social landlords will sometimes bring proceedings based on a tenant’s notice to quit, but it is not something that is often done in the private sector.
Again, the Welsh legislation covers this. There is a prescribed form that the landlord can serve, after which he can issue proceedings from the following day to up to six months later.
It would be good if the Renters Rights Act could include some provision for this situation to provide clarity for landlords and tenants.
And finally
The Renters Rights Act, at the time of writing, is due to have its second reading and is expected to pass fairly swiftly through the parliamentary process, becoming law some time in the first half of 2025.
Unlike the Welsh legislation, this is not a completely new code. The changes are being done by way of amendments to existing legislation, mainly the Housing Act 1988.
It would be good if provision could be made for these two situations so landlords and tenants have clarity. Providing prescribed forms for these situations will also help all parties know where they stand.
