LEGAL help surrounding notice period for livery? PLEASE!

[EquestrianFairy]

Basically i gave notice to my yard on 12th feb to move end of feb and have been told i have to give a months notice which equates to a futher £124.00 even though those 3 weeks that equal that amount i wont be there and someone else will be occupying my stable.

I have had no written contract and quite frankly cannot afford to be paying that money when i am not there.

If i leave without paying that extra £124.00 is there any legal issue that can be brought against me?

Thanks

 

[Spring Feather]

If you gave notice on the 12th of Feb then surely your notice period is up on the 12th March? That's less than 2 weeks beyond the end of the month not 3 weeks.

One months notice is industry standard, I'm surprised you didn't know this?

If you have no written contract then I doubt legally there is anything the old YO can do however if she knows a lot of other YOs in the area then she could blacken your name if she was that way inclined.

 

[loveshorses]

As above really, but if some one else is coming in to your stable can she take two lots of money for one stable anyway?

 

[shadowboy]

Basically i gave notice to my yard on 12th feb to move end of feb and have been told i have to give a months notice which equates to a futher £124.00 even though those 3 weeks that equal that amount i wont be there and someone else will be occupying my stable.

I have had no written contract and quite frankly cannot afford to be paying that money when i am not there.

If i leave without paying that extra £124.00 is there any legal issue that can be brought against me?

Thanks

with no contract there isnt much she can do legally, especially if there is someone actually in the stable you have rented.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

As above really, but if some one else is coming in to your stable can she take two lots of money for one stable anyway?

This was more my issue really- shes getting money for my stable twice

 

[JFTDWS]

I like to leave a few random, unimportant items (especially heavy, cumbersome items) in my stable until i've stopped paying rent, for this very reason

 

[Spring Feather]

This was more my issue really- shes getting money for my stable twice

So what? If you're so worried about her making a few extra pounds then just stay at the old yard until your notice period is up, then you will be the one with the stable and the other person will have to wait.

At the end of the day, you are in the wrong. Whether or not she has someone else for the stable is irrelevant as far as I can see. Industry standard is you give YOs one months notice and you haven't done that.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

This is where i feel contracts should be put in place because there is no such thing as 'industry standard' unless there is a contract in place.

I signed nothing to say that i would give a months notice, yet she requires me to pay that extra 3 weeks whilst someone else moves in and also pays it? This i feel is wrong.

I have to move end of feb.

 

[MissTyc]

Legally, if there is no contact then nothing the YO can do.
Taking double-rent for something is also not really correct, either, and while 1 month notice may well be the "industry standard" in some places, many yards (mine) don't expect much notice at all. I'm lucky to be told a few days beforehand when someone leaves (to be fair, most people let me know long in advance, i.e. when they go onto a waiting list at another yard). Either, needs to be in the contract to be enforced.

 

[hannahmurphy]

No contact, means no agreed period of notice (either way) so you don't have to pay for time you are not there. There is no way the yard owner can expect you to pay this if she never set out a contract.

Don't feel bad, esp as your place has been filled! Sounds like they're trying it on .... x

 

[muffinino]

with no contract there isnt much she can do legally, especially if there is someone actually in the stable you have rented.

This.

Yes, if you pay monthly then it should be a month's notice, however if there is no contract and no agreement otherwise in place, legally there's nowt the YO can do. You may give a month out of courtesy, but that's up to the person leaving if there's no contract in place and the YO should have had one to protect themselves. I fthere's someone in the stable you're leaving, then there's no way the YO should expect you to pay your notice!
If there is a contract and you've signed, then that's tough on the livery and it's a month. Having said that, I would be surprised if even with a contract it would really be enforcable, in as much as a month's worth of livery probably isn't worth the hassle of getting it from someone who just left (I'm not advocating that lol).
However, I have known (and would defend) someone who did a moonlight flit from somewhere where the YO has treated them like something scraped off their boot. In that case, she'd told them she wanted to leave and they laid in to her & her daughter for no reason, then proceeded to treat them like crap for the notice period (which only lasted a week due to the behaviour). I have personal experience of how nasty that YO can be, so can believe the livery who told me. People like that do not deserve courtesy.

 

[Cazza525]

if she really insists on money, I would plonk one of those mahoooooosive bales of straw in the stable.....untied of course to make moving it harder, until the day your money expires..

 

[Spring Feather]

This is where i feel contracts should be put in place because there is no such thing as 'industry standard' unless there is a contract in place.

I signed nothing to say that i would give a months notice, yet she requires me to pay that extra 3 weeks whilst someone else moves in and also pays it? This i feel is wrong.

I have to move end of feb.

Yes I agree with you. Contracts save a lot of misunderstandings. Most liveries pay monthly hence one months notice, however if you pay weekly then the notice period would only be one week.

I still can't see where you are getting the paying of an extra 3 weeks though . If you leave at the end of February then there are only 12 days left of the months notice, which is 2 days less than 2 weeks.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

Yes I agree with you. Contracts save a lot of misunderstandings. Most liveries pay monthly hence one months notice, however if you pay weekly then the notice period would only be one week.

I still can't see where you are getting the paying of an extra 3 weeks though . If you leave at the end of February then there are only 12 days left of the months notice, which is 2 days less than 2 weeks.

I know this confused me: what i assume is that i gave notice on 12th feb so 12th feb to the 12tn march is 4 weeks = £170 a month. Ive paid until 28th feb already so technally its only two weeks which is near £50.00 but shes saying £111.

 

[quirky]

A little different but I left a yard mid month due to the safety worries of my pony.
They had 2 weeks livery for when I wasn't there and wanted 2 weeks more. I argued the toss and they took me to small claims.

It got a little complicated as I counter claimed against them for duty of care and for stolen tack that miraculously appeared after I'd shelled out for more .

It went against them and they had to pay me, though I would try and avoid court, it's a stressful business!

I did have a signed contract with them.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

I'm not sure that there IS an industry standard for livery notice. Has your YO ever chucked liveries off the yard? If so, what notice did she give them? In the past, it has been suggested on here by people more knowledgeable than I that if you pay weekly, then (in the absence of a contract) notice can be a week. If you pay 4-weekly, then notice = 4 weeks, if you pay calendar monthly, then notice = calendar month.

 

[millitiger]

legally if you don't have a contract I doubt she has any claim over a notice period.

However, imo one month notice is standard at 99% of yards and morally I would feel obliged to pay a months notice (unless there is more to this story than the OP has said so far).

 

[Auslander]

I had a a similar situation a few years ago. YO wanted to me to pay a full months livery although I was moving my horse one week into the new month. I was fine with paying until I heard that another horse was arriving (from Germany) the day I left and going into my stable, so she would be getting three week livery from me, and from the owner of the new horse. She didn't know I knew, and nearly has a heart attack when I said "Actually - I've paid for the month, may as well stay until the end of it". She had to admit that she had filled my stable, and I got my money back.

 

[FaldingwoodLivery]

I have a written contract with all my liveries, it states that they give me four weeks notice if they intend to leave. That four weeks must be paid wether the horse is at the yard or not and wether the place is filled or not is totally irrelevant.

It works the other way around though because I have to give them four weeks notice too, apart from if they are more than 14days late with payment, in that case they get 7days to remove the horse.

However without a written contract you YO doesn't have a leg to stand on

 

[CeeBee]

The last yard I was on would only accept one calendar months' notice from 1st of the month. So if you gave your notice on 2nd of the month, for example, you would have to pay for that complete month and the whole of the next as it wasn't one whole calendar month!

 

[farleybank]

hi , i dont know if anyone can help, we recently moved my daughters pony to a new yard a week today, paid one months livery in advance, all been fine until the other day when i was verbally attacked by the yard owner, both myself and my daughter would like to be on a yard where she can enjoy her pony this yard is not the place. On my contact is states that i need to give one months notice i am informing them today that we will be leaving, asap just to confirm that i will have to make up the shortfall of the monies by just over a week making it one months money paid to them to cover my notice or do i have to come up with another complete months money? Also do i have to stay for the whole notice or can i leave, i really dont want to stay its horrid and unconfortable being there.

any advise

 

[Honey08]

legally if you don't have a contract I doubt she has any claim over a notice period.

However, imo one month notice is standard at 99% of yards and morally I would feel obliged to pay a months notice (unless there is more to this story than the OP has said so far).

I agree with this.

Re Farleybank, you should pay a month from the date that you give notice (unless they have a wierd rule about dates of the month, like Ceebee's ex yard, which doesn't seem fair). It doesn't matter if you stay or not - that bit is up to you... Shame it didn't work out for you. What caused the random outburst?

 

[Wagtail]

hi , i dont know if anyone can help, we recently moved my daughters pony to a new yard a week today, paid one months livery in advance, all been fine until the other day when i was verbally attacked by the yard owner, both myself and my daughter would like to be on a yard where she can enjoy her pony this yard is not the place. On my contact is states that i need to give one months notice i am informing them today that we will be leaving, asap just to confirm that i will have to make up the shortfall of the monies by just over a week making it one months money paid to them to cover my notice or do i have to come up with another complete months money? Also do i have to stay for the whole notice or can i leave, i really dont want to stay its horrid and unconfortable being there.

any advise

You need to give one month's notice and therefore pay them an additional amount to take you to 8th June. You can however leave before then.

 

[farleybank]

thank you for your replies, the outburst was due to my name being removed from the diary which is used to book school, when i arrived i found that our name had been removed and when i asked why this had happen the yard owner just went hell for leather at me, stating that my daughter was overhorse and the horse was in her option dangerous, just because he walks quickly to the field which he always has done, she then advised me if i was not happy to go back where i came from.

Very nice way to talk to a client !

 

[Wagtail]

thank you for your replies, the outburst was due to my name being removed from the diary which is used to book school, when i arrived i found that our name had been removed and when i asked why this had happen the yard owner just went hell for leather at me, stating that my daughter was overhorse and the horse was in her option dangerous, just because he walks quickly to the field which he always has done, she then advised me if i was not happy to go back where i came from.

Very nice way to talk to a client !

What odd behaviour! I am a livery yard owner and yes, I have had clients that really are over horsed, but that is entirely up to them! Unless the horse was causing other liveries, their horses, or myself a problem then I would stay out of it. I don't understand why someone would react like your yard owner just because a horse walked fast.

 

[Paris1]

Rediculous. I would pack my things and leave. Pay nothing more. Sounds Luke she has broken het end if the conyract by not allwing horse to be ridden in the school , the use of which presumably is part if your contract?

 

[farleybank]

yes as we are a full livery this is included in our livery agreement, and as for being overhorsed, we own a 14 2" games pony who generally is quick at most of the things he does. i am dreading giving my notice wondering what she will say or do, silly really just want my daughter to enjoy her pony without all this, looking at another yard today, so hope to give notice today or tomorrow at the latest.

I am really not enjoying being a horse person at the mo , the whole thing is ruined by this, good to have the support from others

 

[xxMozlarxx]

Unless there is a contract as others have said, I don't believe there is an 'industry standard' I have given 2 weeks notice on a couple of occasions where I have paid monthly. Even with a contract, if a livery owner behaves in a way that causes distress, interferes etc, I would consider that breach of contract and would not feel obliged to give a notice period, or indeed pay for anything more than the time I was there.

 

[Capriole]

Even with a contract, if a livery owner behaves in a way that causes distress, interferes etc, I would consider that breach of contract and would not feel obliged to give a notice period, or indeed pay for anything more than the time I was there.

same...

 

[OWLIE185]

A contract can be made verbally or in writing and this is why it is so important to insist on a written contract which is signed and dated by both parties.

There is no such thing as an industry standard in terms of a notice to quit - however if you give notice always do it also in writing so that there are no unfortunate misunderstandings.

The reason why a yard may want notice is to give them time to advertise and find a new livery. In many cases livery yards are rented from a landlord who is charging the yard owner a fixed annual/monthly/weekly rental so if a stable is empty they still have to pay for it.

It is most unfortunate that there are a number of un-professional yard owners.