Notice to quit: an old term, three modern meanings
Notice to quit is one of the oldest phrases in landlord and tenant law, and in 2026 it means different things depending on who serves it and what kind of arrangement exists.
Tenants ending an assured periodic tenancy
The everyday case. A tenant's notice to quit is the two months' written notice ending on the last day of a rent period. In writing, correctly dated, provably served: that is the entire formality.
Landlords and assured tenancies
Here the phrase is obsolete: a landlord cannot end an assured periodic tenancy by notice to quit at all. Possession requires a Section 8 notice on a statutory ground and a court order. Any notice to quit a landlord purports to serve on an assured tenant is legally meaningless, which is worth knowing when template sites still sell them.
Where the true notice to quit survives
Arrangements outside the assured regime: company lets and other common law tenancies end by contractual notice or a common law notice to quit, at least four weeks or a full period and expiring correctly. Lodgers with resident landlords receive reasonable notice under their licence, commonly the payment period. In both cases the paperwork, not the Housing Act, sets the rules, which is why those agreements deserve drafting rather than improvising.
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Start my agreement →Frequently asked questions
Can a landlord serve a notice to quit on a tenant?
Not on an assured tenant: only Section 8 and a court order end an assured tenancy. Notices to quit survive for common law tenancies, company lets and lodger licences.
Is a tenant's notice a notice to quit?
In effect, yes: two months in writing, ending on the last day of a rent period, is how a tenant quits an assured periodic tenancy.