Can one months notice absolve you from a private lease agreement?

david4791

I plan to rent a house in July for 5 months only, however, most properties listed are seeking 12 months lease. Could I enter the lease and serve one months notice at the end of month 4 legally?. What get out clauses are there for tenants?

spoonface

david4791 wrote: »

I plan to rent a house in July for 5 months only, however, most properties listed are seeking 12 months lease. Could I enter the lease and serve one months notice at the end of month 4 legally?. What get out clauses are there for tenants?

The only get out clause possible is one that's in your contract, so read it carefully and see what you find.

silja

If you have a fixed term one year lease, giving a months notice is not sufficient. However, many leases nowadays have a 6 months break clause in them (if not, you can ask for one to be inserted).

The_Conductor

In short- unless your lease has a specific break clause built into it- you are liable for rent for the term of the lease. Any arrangements in a private lease are in addition to those covered under legislation.

Normally for shorter leases (e.g. a 6 month lease) you pay significantly more on a monthly basis than on a longer term lease (reflecting the additional costs on a landlord of having the property let again after a relatively short period of time.

Break clauses are more common in commercial leases- where tenant pay a set amount to have them inserted, but can be requested in residential leases by either side.

not even wrong

Your best bet is to be up front with the landlord and ask for a five-month lease to start with -- with the current state of the market the landlord will likely be open to negotiation.