The tenancy / lease agreement may give a longer period of notice, and a landlord and tenant may also agree a shorter period of notice, but this can only be agreed when a notice has been given. The law sets out minimum notice periods (see table below). Recent changes to the legislation have extended the notice periods which a landlord must provide to a tenant when issuing a notice.
It is important that those issuing notices of termination familiarise themselves with the notice periods, as failing to issue a notice of termination with the correct number of days may invalidate the notice of termination in full.
Start of notice periods
By law, the notice period starts the day after the tenant receives the notice. So, if the tenant receives the notice on a Monday, the notice period is counted from the Tuesday. It is a good idea to give some extra days’ notice to make sure the legal minimum notice period is covered.
Invalid notice of termination is a common issue in dispute cases and in 2016 43% of notices of termination were invalid. This was due to many reasons, the most common being:
- insufficient notice being given (day one is counted from the day after serving the notice) and;
- not allowing the minimum 14 day warning letter for rent arrears to expire before serving a 28-day notice of termination.
Notice required to end a tenancy
The amount of notice required to end a tenancy depends on how long the tenant has lived in the property. The lease agreement may give a longer period of notice to the tenant, and a landlord and tenant may also agree a shorter period of notice, however, this can only be agreed when a notice has been given. The law sets out minimum notice periods which are different for a landlord and a tenant.
From June 4th 2019, the required notice to end a tenancy for a landlord is:
| Duration of a tenancy | Landlord notice period |
| Less than 6 months | 28 days |
| Not less than 6 months, but less than one year | 90 days |
| Not less than one year, but less than three years | 120 days |
| Not less than three years, but less than seven years | 180 days |
| Not less than seven years, but less than eight years | 196 days |
| Not less than eight years | 224 days |
| Duration of a tenancy | Tenants notice periods |
| Less than 6 months | 28 days |
| 6+ months, but less than 1 year | 35 days |
| 1+ year, but less than 2 years | 42 days |
| 2+ years but less than 4 years | 56 days |
| 4+ years but less than 8 years | 84 days |
| 8+ years | 112 days |
A tenancy can also be ended if both a landlord and tenant agree to terminate a lease.
7 day notice
If there is a high and imminent risk of death, serious injury or danger to the structure of the property as a result of the landlord’s failure to comply with their obligations, the tenant only has to give 7 days notice. Warning letters do not need to be sent in this situation.