Twelve months out
Establish whether the tenancy is protected, review the alterations licences and any schedule of condition, and take a view on whether you want to stay. Get a budget figure for terminal dilapidations at this point — it is often the deciding factor between renewal and relocation.
Six months out
Notices should be in play by now. If you are leaving, start the reinstatement programme; landlords routinely price works far above what a competent contractor charges, and doing the work yourself in your own time is nearly always cheaper than paying damages.
Holding over
If the tenancy is protected and no notice has been served, it continues automatically under Section 24 on the same terms. That can be useful breathing space, but the landlord can apply for an interim rent, so it is not free.
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Chris McGarrigle MRICS, chartered since 1989, acting for occupiers across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
chris@mcgarrigle.comRelated guides
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