Notice to quit

Notification, oral or written, of intention on the part of a lessor or lessee to terminate a lease. The statutory provisions regulating the ways in which a notice to quit must be formulated and delivered (including time and format requirements) can be found in Part 3 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1948.

The termination notice can be given at any time and does not have to line up with the rent payment cycle. The tenant must pay the rent up to and including the day the notice period ends and they vacate the premises.

A termination notice must conform to the following requirements:

• In writing
• Signed and dated by the party providing the notice
• Properly addressed
• Give the day on which the residential tenancy agreement is terminated and by which the tenant will need to vacate
• Where appropriate, give the grounds/reason for the notice

Notice to quit is usually given at the end of the fixed term, after the fixed term, or when a property is put up for sale. In circumstances of tenants moving to escape domestic violence, notice to quit requires no minimum notice period and can be granted without tenant being penalised, where an acceptable form of evidence is provided.