The fact that they have not drawn up a new contract for you is
irrelevant in this instance. The fact that you have continued to pay
rent which they have continued to accept, forms a contract regardless
of the absence of an agreement in writing. In UK law, a contract
consists of two basic elements, an offer and an acceptance. When both
elements are present, a contract is said to exist. Your payment of
rent is the offer, the letting agency's acceptance is evidenced by
their acceptance of the rent. As you have communicated your wish to
continue your tenancy on a month to month basis, the fact that the
letting agency have continued to accept rent after receiving this
communication, implies acceptance of these terms by the letting
agency. You have what is known as an implied periodic tenancy, as per
Lord Justice Nicholls in the case of:
Javad v. Mohammed Aqil [1991] 1 WLR 1007 at 1012E-G.
As you now have an implied monthly tenancy, the appropriate amount of
notice you should give ought to be 1 calendar month. Notice was given
on the 5th of August - you should normally only have to pay until 5th
September. Presumably the landlord was told of your desire to remain
in the house on a month by month basis prior to July 31st. If your new
contract can be held to commence on 1st August, your first monthly
rent payment under the new contract is from August 1st - 28th. Your
next monthly payment is August 29th - September 25th. So the longest
you would have to pay up until is September 25th. But as you have
given a clear month's notice as required by law, you have given the
letting agency sufficient time to find a new tenant to take over your
part of the lease. Although strict application of the law may require
you to pay until 25-09-02, a court may take a more liberal view and
insist you pay only until your notice period expires.
It would appear that you need not pay beyond September 5th. However,
to be doubly certain, either contact your local Citizens Advice
Bureau, or better still, check with some local solicitors to see if
you are entitled to an hour's free legal consultation under the Green
Form Scheme. The CAB rarely have qualified legal staff and it can take
weeks to get an appointment due to understaffing. It certainly appears
that you need not pay beyond 25-09-02, but only a qualified solicitor
can 100% confirm this. It seems as if the letting agency may still be
trying to hold you to the terms of your original contract with them,
which, since their implied acceptance of new contractual terms, they
are probably not entitled to do.
I hope this information is of assistance.
Purplecat. |
Clarification of Answer by
purplecat-ga
on
10 Aug 2002 00:19 PDT
Apologies, the dates below which are listed as 1-28 August and 29
August to 25th of September, should, of course read 1-31st August and
1-30 September. Although strict application of statutory law may
require you to pay until the end of September, in the UK we also have
a system known as equity. Equity is part of common law i.e. judge made
law. Equity frequently steps in where strict application of the law
would result in unfairness to a party. This is why it appears you
should only be required to pay until 5th September. But to be 100%
certain, check with a solicitor or with a local law centre. Also, some
solicitors offer free legal surgeries e.g. on a Saturday morning - a
browse through Yellow Pages may identify one who does so in your local
area.
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