Ending your tenancy
Please read the whole of these notes before taking any action. They will apply to periodic tenancies before 1 May 2026. After that date, all tenancies will be converted to assured periodic tenancies.
Your tenancy is what is known as a ‘periodic’ tenancy which means it runs from month to month/week to week, depending on the terms of your tenancy agreement.
If you need to end your tenancy for any reason, you can do this by serving on us a ‘tenant’s Notice to Quit’.
The law provides that
- Your notice must be in writing
- It can be served on us on any day in the month
- You must (for assured tenancies after 1 May 2026) give us not less than two months’ notice.
- The two-month notice period must end on a day when the rent is due or the day before the rent is due. This will ensure compliance with the terms of your tenancy agreement and government guidance
- The effect of your notice is to end your tenancy at the end of the notice period.
- If you don’t give the correct notice period (ending on a rent due day) your notice may be invalid.
There is a legal rule which says that if there are joint tenants, one tenant’s notice can end the tenancy for everyone, even if the other tenants were unaware that the notice was being served. This is a bit unfair on joint tenants who were not told by their co-tenant that they are going to serve a Notice to Quit! We would suggest that you always discuss this with your co-tenants (if any) and ideally, the notice should be served on behalf of you all. However, be aware that a notice served by just one of joint tenants will be binding on all of you.
There is no special form that must be used for your notice, but we provide draft wording below that you can use if you wish.
Dear [name landlord]
Notice to Quit re my tenancy of [address of the property]
I hereby give you notice that I will quit and end my tenancy of the above property on [date].
Or, if that date is not valid, on the first date on which this notice can validly expire being not less than two months after service of this notice.
I will give vacant possession on or before that date and return all keys.
Yours faithfully
Signed …………………… Dated ………………………..
[Your full name]
Completing the notice
You should try to give the correct date when your tenancy will end. For example, if your rent is due on the 10th of each month, and your landlord receives your notice on 15 January, the earliest date your notice can end is 9 April.
If you are unsure, do your best to choose the correct date. The wording in the notice includes a safeguard so that, if necessary, it will still take effect on the earliest valid date.
If the notice is from more than one tenant, then give all their names at the end, and ideally, they should all sign the notice.
Please post or hand-deliver it to us at one of the folowing:
- RPS Estate & Letting Agents, 181 High Street, Lee on the Solent, PO13 9BX
- email: mail@rowepropertyservices.co.uk
- We suggest the subject line of your email be : Notice to Quit re [address of your property].
However, if you want to send the notice to us in a different way and use different wording, it will still serve as a Notice to Quit so long as it is in writing.
Note: If you do not serve a Notice to Quit on us, your tenancy will continue and you will remain liable for the rent, even if you are no longer living at the property.
What happens after we receive your Notice to Quit
If all of the tenants wish to end the tenancy, then we will need to arrange a checkout meeting to check the condition of the property and consider whether any deductions need to be made from your deposit.
When you leave the property:
- You must remove all your possessions and any rubbish, and
- Leave all furniture and other items in the same rooms that they were at the start of the tenancy (as set out in the property inventory)
- The property should be left clean and tidy in the same condition in which you found it at the start of your tenancy
- You must notify all utility companies and arrange for final meter readings
- If you are responsible for any unpaid debts or court judgements registered against the Property, you must do what is necessary to make sure that these are no longer registered against the Property
- Ensure that all occupiers, including household members, lodgers and guests, have vacated and that vacant possession is provided to us
- Hand back all keys (including window locks) along with any identifying key fobs
- Provide us with a forwarding address and telephone number
If you vacate the property on or before the notice given in your notice, your tenancy will end at the end of the notice period, and you will not be liable for further rent (although you will still be liable for any rent arrears incurred before that date).
If you do not leave by the end of the notice period we will be entitled to evict you through the courts. This will be on the basis that the tenancy has ended following your Notice to Quit, but that you remain in occupation. Hopefully, possession proceedings will not be necessary.
If some of the tenants wish to remain in the property, please let us know ASAP so we can discuss this and, if appropriate, arrange for a new tenancy agreement to be provided.
If the remaining tenants wish to introduce a new replacement tenant to help with the rent, they will need to be referenced by us before we can agree to this.
Note that we do not have to agree to allow any tenants to remain in the property after service on us of a Notice to Quit, and we are entitled to require you all to vacate at the end of the notice period.
If you change your mind and want to cancel your Notice to Quit, this can only be done if both we and any other tenants agree to this in writing. We may not be willing to agree to this, so think carefully before you serve your notice.
If we do not agree to the notice being withdrawn and if we are not willing to enter into a new tenancy agreement with any co-tenants who wish to remain, we will require you to vacate the property on or before the date given in the Notice to Quit.
If you want to leave before the two month notice period is up, the Notice must be for the full two months or it may be invalid.
Once you have served your notice, let us know if you would like to leave earlier. We may be willing to agree to end the tenancy early, but this will be at the Landlord discretion. If we do not agree, then rent will be payable until the end of the notice period, even if you move out.
Feel free to get in touch if you want to discuss your departure.
