Practical guidance for tenants - what to do if you plan to move out around May, June 2026
1. Plan early
If you think you may want to move out around May or June 2026, raise this well in advance. Early discussion creates options.
2. Don’t assume the old fixed-term end date still applies
After 1 May 2026, the tenancy does not simply “end” unless notice is given or an agreement is reached.
3. Make sure you can prove your notice is valid
- Put it in writing,
- Give at least 2 months advance notice, allowing for service and excluding the day of service
- Ends on the last day of a rent period (this will be the day before a rent payment day if you pay monthly; if you don’t pay monthly, your rent periods start on the same day of the month that you were entitled to move in)
- State in the notice the date you intend to quit – eg 14 August 2026 then add the words ‘or the next date after this notice which is at least 2 months from service of this notice being the last day of a period of the tenancy’. Those additional words could save your notice from becoming invalid if you accidentally put in the wrong calendar date.
4. Ask about agreement if timing is tight
If the statutory notice period would push you past your planned move-out date:
- ask whether the landlord will agree an earlier surrender,
- do this before making firm moving arrangements or signing up to a new tenancy
- agreements for surrender must contain all the agreed terms and be signed by all parties.
5. Keep paying rent until the tenancy lawfully ends
Rent remains payable until:
- the notice expires, or
- an agreed surrender date.
If you don’t pay the rent, the landlord could sue you and this could adversely affect your credit rating.
6. Further Reading
Giving Notice - Joint and Individual Tenancies