u/cakestronaut

Hi all, hoping for some advice/experiences from people who may know better than I do.

Situation:

• My tenancy with Vertus (landlord) was due to end 24 July.
• Because of the Renters' Rights Act (fixed terms converted to periodic tenancies from 1 May 2026), I now need to give 2 months' notice that must expire at the end of a rental period.
• I only gave notice on 30 June, which means (per the landlord) my notice doesn't land on the 24 August cutoff and instead rolls to 24 September - so I'm being told I owe rent until 24 September, even though I'm physically leaving the UK right after.
• When Vertus emailed an attached government information sheet about the changes early on, their email itself said I "don't need to take any action." So this situation genuinely caught me off guard. Being relatively unfamiliar of how the specific laws work here, I didn't realise there was anything new to act on either.
• Subletting, Airbnb, and assignment are all explicitly banned in my contract, so I have no way to offset the cost with a replacement occupant.
• Vertus won't agree to end the tenancy early (no surrender).
• They're also increasing the rent for the second of the two "extra" months.

Basically just looking for advice on what to actually do here. Is there any way to challenge the notice date or negotiate with them, or am I stuck paying the full amount which I don't have?