Tenants vacated my property on Saturday (9 December), this is a massive relief. They have left the property in a right state after their attempts to return it to its previous state, which they believe they have done by cleaning the carpets and slapping paint over the badly filled holes etc. There is extensive damage to door frames, windowsills, walls, laminate flooring, dog scratches to patio door and backdoor, kids’ fingernail marks in the coving, the list is extensive.
They started asking when they would get their deposit back as soon as they served their notice, as they needed the money for the carpets for their HA property. The tenants originally served notice for 30 November, but the HA informed them the next day that handing over of the keys was delayed until 8 December. I checked with the NRLA advice line, who said that there wasn’t anything that could be done except to allow them to stay on until 9 December when they would hopefully move out. The TA is a statutory periodic agreement, so I was advised that as they were going into the next rental month, the tenants would be obliged to pay for the full month and that when they moved out, I would refund them for the overpaid days.
During the returning of the keys, the tenants demanded to know when they would get the overpayment of the rent back, in the event I had asked them to pay for half a month rather than the full month and their Housing Benefit payment is £200 over this amount. They also demanded to know when they would get their deposit back because they needed it before Christmas. This is the context of their overbearing and potentially intimidating attitude. I had previously explained that I would need to see evidence of their final bills so that I knew that they had been settled up to the end of their tenancy and we agreed that screenshots would be fine. The tenant then argued that he didn’t see why I needed to see final bills before returning the deposit because he paid the suppliers directly. Obviously, to some extent the requesting of bills is a delaying tactic on my side while I get ready to prepare my case as to the cost of the damages and deductions from the deposit, also I wasn’t going to tell him how he could potentially transfer the bills into my name.
The NRLA advised me today that I should return the balance of December’s rent ASAP because the tenants might try to argue that I was using that payment at an ‘extra deposit’ to get them to leave by the 9th. They said that I couldn’t charge the tenants for days that they weren’t actually in the property. However, I read online that as the tenancy is Periodic the following applies:
“At common law the minimum notice period is one complete period of the tenancy, subject to a minimum of 28 days (Protection from Eviction Act (PEA) 1977 s5). The method of service should follow that stipulated (and therefore agreed) in the Tenancy Agreement (Contract) and the server should request proof of service. Most AST periodic tenancies are monthly (rent is paid monthly), so the tenancy periods, once the tenancy becomes a statutory periodic tenancy (SPT), are one month in length. Weekly tenancies (rent paid weekly) require a 28 day minimum notice period. The Tenant's notice must be in writing, though there is no prescribed form this must take, it must be for a minimum of one complete tenancy period, and must expire on the last day or the first day of a tenancy period. Shorter notice may be accepted by the landlord, but there is no legal obligation on the landlord to accept a shorter notice than is required by law. A tenant's Notice to Quit in a Periodic Tenancy will end the tenancy. Once a notice to quit has been served this cannot be cancelled except by agreement with the landlord. If the landlord insists, the tenant must then leave on or after the notice expiry date. If the tenant stays after the expiry date (holds over) the landlord is legally entitled to charge double rent** for every day the tenant stays. Where there are joint tenants any one tenant can end the tenancy by serving a valid Notice to Quit. This will be the case even when other tenants do not want the tenancy to end and have not been consulted. The landlord may not seek to end the tenancy for the remaining tenant/s, but if s/he does any tenant remaining after the notice expiry will be a trespasser, though the landlord will need a court Possession Order to evict the remaining tenant/s.** Double Rent '� where a tenant is able to a give notice to quit under the terms of the tenancy and has given to the landlord a valid notice to quit, and subsequently does not give up possession on the date of expiry of this notice, the landlord is able to demand double rent under section 18 of the Distress for Rent Act 1737.”
Does the 1737 Rent Act still apply following the banning of fees? Has anyone experience this recently? Would it be best just to just return the balance of December’s rent to try to placate the tenants and to ensure that there is no comeback from the tenants if they try to make out that this was an additional deposit? If they were kind and pleasant people, I would have not difficulty in returning their overpayment, although the day after they vacate on a Sunday is unreasonable in any case.
If anyone can explain the Rent Act of 1737 and whether this still applies or not, I would be most grateful, thank you.
