How to Log a Tenant’s Notice to End a Periodic Tenancy (Dates, Reply, Keys Plan)

Keep the original tenant notice, write the date received and the live end date, reply in writing within a day, then diary check-out and the key count-back.

16 September 2026•1 min read•Article•IziRento Editorial

Rental operations notes from the IziRento team. Not legal advice.

Key takeaways

A tenant’s notice to end a periodic tenancy — a rolling tenancy with no fixed end date — is the written message that landed, not a paraphrase. Keep the original with headers or a timestamp. Write the date received and the end date you are treating as live. Reply in writing within a day confirming or correcting that date. Diary check-out and key count-back against the existing key schedule.

The tenant has said they are leaving, and the file is a chat, a forwarded screenshot, or nothing. Keep the original notice as received, write the date it arrived and the end date you are treating as live, then reply in writing within a day confirming or correcting that date. Diary the check-out walk and the key count-back against the list you already have.

Tuesday. Willa’s one let in Norwich. A tenant WhatsApps “giving a month’s notice from Friday”. She replies “ok”. Nobody writes the date the message arrived — rent is due on the 1st — and the original sits in a disappearing chat. The risk is six weeks later: keys through the letterbox on the 12th, and a deposit request with no live date on the card.

The problem is not that they told you they are leaving. It is that nobody saved the original or wrote the two dates. From 1 May 2026 you cannot tell the tenant how to give written notice — letter, email or text all count, and GOV.UK for landlords is plain on the channel. A valid notice stays live unless you both agree in writing to withdraw it. Keys through the letterbox are not that agreement. Typical mistake: treating Tuesday’s “ok” as the file.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

How do you keep the original notice the day it lands?

Keep the original as it landed: the email with headers, the text screenshot with timestamp and sender, or a scan of the letter. Do not paraphrase into a notes app. Shelter’s England page, last updated 17 July 2026: the period runs from the day you receive it, not the day they typed it.

Do file the message in the form you got it. Shelter on giving notice lists email, post and in person. Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5A says a clause that binds them to one means of written notice is of no effect. Do not reply “email it properly or it doesn’t count”.

If a screenshot looks truncated, ask them to confirm the missing lines in writing the same day. If it arrived by post, write the day it hit the mat. In practice, Willa should have saved the WhatsApp with the Tuesday timestamp. Do write that received date before you argue about the end date.

Same-day card

Field	Write this	Typical mistake
Original	Email headers, text screenshot, or letter scan	A paraphrase in Notes
Date received	Calendar day it landed	The day they typed it
Live end date	Period-end date treated as live	A chat “ok” to a short date
Written reply	Confirm or correct the live date within a day	Silence, or another “ok”
Diary line	Check-out walk and key count-back	“Sometime later”

What to write as the two dates on the card?

Write two dates: the date received, and the end date you are treating as live. That live date is usually the first or last day of a rent period, at least two months out unless a shorter period was already agreed in writing. If they named a short date, do not treat a chat “ok” as that agreement.

Do write the calendar end date, not “a month from Friday”. GOV.UK for tenants and the landlord page both say notice must end on a rent-due day or the day before. PEA 1977 s.5(1ZA) sets the default at two months if the agreement is silent. Shelter’s worked example: rent due on the 15th → end on the 14th or the 15th.

Willa’s rent is due on the 1st, so her live end date is a 1st or the day before, at least two months from the Tuesday the WhatsApp landed. mydeposits times a 1 June rent-due as typically ending 30 June. If the agreement already said one month before 1 May 2026, GOV.UK on older agreements says that period can still apply: check the AST, then write the live date. Do not leave the second box blank.

A chat “ok” is not a shorter-period agreement

A named date inside two months is live only if you put the shorter end in writing the same day. Joint: that writing needs all of the tenants. Otherwise confirm the lawful period-end date in the reply.

When to reply in writing confirming or correcting the live date?

Reply in writing within a day. Confirm you received the notice on [date], the live end date is [date], rent remains due until then unless you agree otherwise in writing, and check-out and keys are diaried. You cannot tell them how to serve. You can confirm what you received.

Do write that reply as email or a dated letter, not another chat tick. Shelter asks tenants to get confirmation that an emailed notice arrived; your reply is that confirmation. GOV.UK Renters’ Rights Act overview for tenants (updated 1 May 2026) repeats two months’ written notice, on the rent-due day or the day before. If the named date is short, either correct it or put the shorter date in the same written reply.

For example, Willa’s reply can read: we received this on Tuesday; we are treating the tenancy as ending on the next 1st at least two months out; rent remains due until then; check-out and keys on [diary date]. Do not leave that sentence in WhatsApp. If they later ask to stay, they can stay only if you agree in writing. Do file the yes or the no next to the original.

Two dates on the notice card: date received and live end date two months out

Why does an early key return still need the diary line?

Diary the check-out walk and the key count-back on the same card, against the key schedule you already keep. Rent runs to the live date unless you agree an earlier end in writing. Keys through the letterbox are an offer, not an end. Write which of the two you are doing the day the keys arrive.

Do file the diary date, not “sometime later”. Open the existing keys and fobs handover file and count the set back on the day they come in, even if the rooms walk is later. Book the walk from the tenancy check-out report checklist — that neighbour owns the rooms. Shelter Legal (updated 1 May 2026): keys through the letterbox were not enough in Laine v Cadwallader. They can move out early without paying the remainder only if you agree.

If they hand keys back before the live date, write whether you are accepting an earlier written end or keeping rent running. Count the set that day either way. Once the live end date is set, the utility account transfer sits on its own card. Do not rebuild the key list from memory on the night they post them.

Written reply checklist confirming date received, live end date, rent running and keys diary

Which folder should hold the notice intake card?

Keep this card with the tenancy, labelled tenant-notice-YYYY-MM-DD. Clip the original, the written reply, the live-date note and the diary line. Do not leave the only copy in a mixed inbox. Pressure to “just say ok” is not a reason to skip the two dates.

Do file the card on this let. Success bar: Tuesday opens one card — original saved, date received, live end date, a written reply, and check-out plus keys in the diary. Verify that checklist, then stop. Workflow: original → two dates → written reply → diary check-out/keys. An IziRento workspace can hold the notice, the two dates and the written reply next to the lease.

Notice intake the day it lands

Keep the original
Save the email with headers, the text screenshot, or a letter scan. Do not paraphrase.
Write two dates
Date received. Live end date — usually a rent-period first or last day, at least two months out unless a shorter period is already agreed in writing.
Reply in writing within a day
Confirm received date, live end date (or a written shorter date), rent running until then unless you agree otherwise, and the diary date.
Diary check-out and key count-back
Book the rooms walk. Count the existing key list back when keys come in. If they return early, write whether you accept an earlier written end or keep rent running.
Put a withdrawal in writing
The notice stays live unless you both agree in writing to withdraw it before it takes effect. Joint: all tenants.
Clip the card to the tenancy
Label tenant-notice-YYYY-MM-DD. Original, written reply, live-date note, diary line.

FAQ

What if the end date they named is short?

Treat two months to a rent-period end as the default unless a shorter period is already agreed in writing. A chat “ok” is not that writing. Joint: all tenants must be in that writing. If a pre-1 May AST already said one month, check it, then write the live date.

Is a text message a notice I must file?

Yes. Letter, email or text all count. You cannot bind them to recorded post. Save the screenshot with timestamp, then confirm in writing what you received and which date is live.

What if they hand keys back before the date?

Rent runs to the live date unless you agree an earlier end in writing. Keys through the letterbox are an offer, not an end. Count them against the keys file the day they arrive.

Can one joint tenant end the tenancy for everyone?

Yes: one joint tenant’s notice can end the tenancy for everyone. A shorter period, or a withdrawal, needs all of them in writing.

What if they change their mind after giving notice?

The notice stays live unless you both agree in writing to withdraw it before it takes effect. Joint: all tenants.

Does this card apply in Wales or Scotland?

This card is England. Wales and Scotland use different rules.

Keep the notice card on the same lease

Hold the original, two dates, written reply and keys diary on one record.

Try the workspace

Keep the original tenant notice, write the date received and the live end date, reply in writing within a day, then diary check-out and the key count-back.

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