Tenants guide

Ending your tenancy

You will need to let your landlord know in advance if you want to end your tenancy - this is called giving notice.

You have to give notice in the correct way - if you don’t, you might have to pay rent even after you’ve moved out. You might also have to pay other bills - for example, council tax.

When and how much notice you give will depend on the type of tenancy you have and what your tenancy agreement says.

If you can't give the right amount of notice you might be able to agree with your landlord to end your tenancy early. This is called 'surrendering your tenancy'.

If you’re thinking about ending your tenancy because of your landlord

Don’t end your tenancy because your landlord isn’t doing what they should - for example, if they’re not doing repairs.

You have the right to rent a safe home and to be treated fairly. The law is there to protect your rights - you can take action to get your landlord to do what they should.

Check what type of tenancy you have

You will either have a 'fixed term tenancy' which ends on a certain date or a ‘periodic tenancy’, which just continues on a monthly or weekly basis for example. A periodic tenancy is also known as a ‘rolling tenancy’.

Fixed term tenancy

With a fixed term tenancy, you will need to service a notice that brings your tenancy to an end after then end of the fixed term. You cannot end it sooner. Some fixed term tenancies have a “break clause” this may give you the chance to end your tenancy before the end of fixed term. You will need to look at the tenancy agreement you signed before you moved in.

Periodic tenancy

A periodic tenancy is either weekly or monthly, depending on how often you are expected to pay your rent. If you pay your rent weekly then you will need to serve 4 weeks’ notice and if you pay your rent monthly then you will need to serve 1 month’s notice.

If you have a joint tenancy you need to understand that by serving notice you end that tenancy for everyone on the tenancy, not just you.

Giving notice

Check if your tenancy agreement says anything about how you should give notice. If it doesn’t say anything, give notice by writing a letter to your landlord.

It’s a good idea to ask your landlord to confirm in writing they’ve received your notice. You could ask them to sign a note or letter that says they’ve received it.

You can find your landlord's address on your tenancy agreement or your rent book. Ask your landlord for their details if you can’t find them - they have to give you the information. If you rent from a letting agent, ask them to give you your landlord details if you can't find them.