In our bi-weekly series, readers can email in with any questions about property to be answered by our expert, Jonathan Rolande. Jonathan is a professional property buyer and housing commentator who has bought and sold over 1,000 properties. If you have a question for him, email us at money@theipaper.com.
Question: My landlord is trying to sell my flat and says he wants me to move out by January. The only strange part to that is I signed a lease in April for a year. They’re claiming new rental legislation overrides this; are they right?
Answer: This is an interesting question about a problem that will soon become very common. Uncertainty around the Renters’ Rights Act.
So, your landlord wants the house back in January so he can sell it. Surely a twelve-month agreement signed just five months ago makes that impossible.
Well, not quite. In property, as in so much else, it is possible to be right and wrong at the same time.
The Renters’ Rights Act abolished fixed terms on May 1. Tenancies in England are now periodic, in other words open-ended. That neat twelve-month term printed in your agreement no longer binds either side. A landlord cannot insist you stay.
But the date you started the tenancy matters, and here is why. If your landlord wants to sell with vacant possession, which usually adds a lot of value, he has to use Ground 1A. That means four months’ notice, and the notice cannot expire during the first year of the tenancy. The term may not apply but the start date does.
You signed in April 2026. So January is not happening without your goodwill. The earliest you can be required to leave is April 2027.
That is the legal position, but the human one may be different, and it is worth thinking about.
Landlords who sell are rarely doing it for fun. Divorce, higher mortgage costs, a parent needing care or a job that no longer looks safe. These things trouble landlords too.
So ask the obvious question. Why does January matter?
There may be a good answer. And if you could move before the law says you must, perhaps something comes back the other way. A month rent free, help with removal costs, the deposit returned early, for example.
He saves four months of notice, and the legal bill that can come with it. You move when it suits you, with extra money in your pocket.
The law sets the minimum. That should never stop two people from sitting down and finding something better if they can.
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