Leaving

Unless you have a break clause in your agreement, if you request to end your tenancy early your landlord or letting agent may ask you to pay compensation. They cannot be unreasonable or attempt to charge prohibited fees on top of reasonable compensation.

A break clause is a term in the tenancy agreement that gives the landlord and/or tenant the right to end a fixed term tenancy before the expiry of the fixed term period. You don't need to give notice to say you’ll be leaving on the last day of your fixed term, unless your tenancy agreement says you must. But it's best to give your landlord notice to avoid problems.

It is advised to give your landlord or agent written notice either via a letter or email. Other than reasonable wear and tear you should return the property in the same condition you received it, or you are likely to lose some or all of your deposit.

Try to be present when the property is inspected to check whether any of the tenancy deposit should be deducted to cover damage. If you do not agree with proposed deductions contact the relevant deposit protection scheme.

Do not leave bills unpaid. This might have an impact on your references and credit rating.

Remove all your possessions, clean the house, take meter readings, return all the keys and give a forwarding address. Dispose of any unwanted furniture via a local collection service. The landlord is usually entitled to dispose of possessions left in the property after, typically, 14 days. The landlord must let you know, or try to let you know, that they intend to dispose of possessions you leave behind. The landlord also has the right to charge you the cost of storage.