Offer/acceptance and s21

[SomeGuy]

Housing negotiations - offer/acceptance

I currently have a periodic tenancy following the expiry of a fixed term. I have been in the property for 5 years.

The landlords agent wrote to us advising they would like to raise the rent in January. Precisely on the day of the Birth of our first child so this wasn't responded to until recently.

They offered an increase in rent and the formation of a new 6 month AST.

I spoke with the agent recently and made a counter offer but was willing to retreat to the terms offered initially for the sake of security given we have the young child.

They have now served a s21 notice without any follow up to our counter offer.

I have gone back to the email in which they made their offer initially and confirmed our acceptance.

The question is, would this offer be considered binding now that it has been accepted? There has been no withdrawal of the landlords offer.

[atticus]

As a matter of contract law, making a counter offer renders the original offer no longer available. Added to that, the service of the s21 notice is to be treated as withdrawal of the offer (if still open, which it was not), which was not therefore open for acceptance.

Don't try to be too clever. Talk to the agents and see if something can be worked out.

[SomeGuy]

Thanks for the response.

The "counter offer" was a somewhat exploratory conversation with the agent as to what could be compromised. So I suppose arguable whether it was a counter offer as such.

The second point makes this academic however so thanks for the prompt clarity.