Reports2Go

Ending a Tenancy

There are many scenarios under which you may be evicting tenants. For example, you want to sell the property. Alternatively, you may have experienced difficulties with your tenant(s) and want them to move out.

Whether you’re letting your property to one or two individuals or you’re an HMO landlord, you still have to follow the correct legal procedures when ending a tenancy. It's also wise to log the property's condition using a free checkout report tool.

Do it in Writing

You must confirm you’re ending the tenancy in writing. It’s important you check what’s stated in your tenancy agreement before you issue notice. In most cases, under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, you are obliged to issue a tenant with two months’ notice. Alternatively, if your tenant has broken the tenancy terms, you can issue them with a Section 8 notice giving between two weeks’ and two months’ notice.

Your tenant might ask if they can use their deposit as the final month’s rent. Still, it is advisable not to agree to that and only release the deposit once you have conducted an end of tenancy check. Typically, you might use a tool such as our free checkout report via our free app.

Difficult Tenants

You may be evicting tenants for non-payment of rent or if they have damaged your property. In scenarios such as this, either side will likely have little or no goodwill. Therefore, you must follow the legal eviction process to the letter and all the stipulations that fall under this legislation.

Inspect The Property

If ending the tenancy is amicable and possibly mutual, you will want to inspect the property before releasing tenant deposits. However, this may be more difficult or impossible to do in situations where you evict tenants due to a dispute.

In a positive world, you can enter the property to do an end of tenancy inventory checkout report. Whether you plan to let the property again or not, you want to ensure that the property is in good condition while allowing for reasonable wear and tear.

To save time, rather than using templates, you might consider using a free checkout report app such as the one offered by Reports2Go.

In this instance, our free checkout report app can save you time, and you send the report digitally to your tenant so they can check it themselves. Find out more about the Reports2Go Inventory app.

Gary, 03 March 2023