Notice to quit: how to end your tenancy

Does it have to be in writing?

Yes. A notice to quit has to be in writing, so a phone call or a conversation at the door is not notice however clearly it was understood. Check your agreement for how notices may be given and where they must be sent, send it that way, and keep proof that you sent it and when.

Email is usually the easiest thing to prove. If your agreement requires post, send it by post as well and keep the receipt: the cost of getting this wrong is two more months of rent.

When can my notice end?

Where no shorter period has been agreed, your two months’ notice has to expire on the first or last day of a tenancy period. For a tenancy with rent due on the 1st, that means the notice ends at the end of a rent month rather than partway through one. A date picked because it suits your move can leave the tenancy running.

Do I still pay rent during the notice period?

Yes, and that does not change if you move out early. Rent is due until the tenancy ends, so moving out six weeks before the end date does not save you six weeks of rent unless your landlord has agreed to that in writing. Do not cancel the standing order before the final payment has gone.

Can I leave earlier than two months?

Only if your landlord agrees. You can ask, and a landlord with a new tenant lined up often will, but the agreement needs to be in writing and needs to say what you owe up to the date you go. A verbal “that’s fine” is not something you can rely on when the deposit is being returned.

Can I withdraw my notice?

Not on your own. Once valid notice is given, the tenancy will end on that date unless your landlord agrees in writing to let it continue. Treat sending the notice as the decision, not as opening a conversation.

We are joint tenants. Can one of us give notice?

Do not do this without advice. On a joint tenancy the tenancy is a single thing held by all of you, and notice given by one tenant has historically been capable of ending it for everybody, including housemates who wanted to stay. Talk to the other tenants and the landlord first, and get free advice before anything is sent. Your landlord may be willing to grant a new tenancy to those staying, but nothing obliges them to.

• Shelter’s housing advice — free, and the right place to check a joint tenancy before anyone gives notice.
• Citizens Advice housing — help working out where everyone stands.

What should the notice say?

Keep it short and unambiguous: that you are ending the tenancy, the full address, and the date the tenancy will end. Ask them to confirm receipt, and to tell you about the final inspection, the keys and your deposit. Date it, and keep a copy of exactly what you sent.

What should I do before I send it?

Work out the end date against your rent days before anything else, because that is the part people get wrong. Then deal with the evidence: the condition of the place, the meter readings, the keys and a forwarding address for the deposit.

• Check the rent day, and pick an end date that falls on the first or last day of a tenancy period.
• Check the agreement for an agreed notice period and for how notices must be sent.
• Photograph every room, and compare it with the inventory you signed at the start.
• Book the final inspection, and go to it if you can.
• Take meter readings on the day you leave, photographed with the date.
• Give a forwarding address, in the notice, for the deposit.
• Keep paying rent until the tenancy actually ends.

The new tenancy checklist covers the inventory and meter readings at the other end of a tenancy, which is what your evidence gets compared against.