rent mutual-mistake
Do I have right to delay the increase of my rent by one month if the landlord proposes to increase it on Febraury the 30th?
<p>This is the text of the e-mail I received from the agency on 28th of January (my emphasis):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I hope this finds you well.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we’ve been asked to inform you of an increase in your rent. It hasn’t been increased in a while, and our landlord would like to have a fair return on his property whilst recognising that you have been a good tenant for a long time. He’s asked us to increase the rent to £500 from the existing £470.</p>
<p>You are entitled to one month’s notice of any increase, so this won’t come into effect <em><strong>until your rent due date on 30th February 2022</strong></em>. Once agreed, your rent cannot be reviewed for another 12 months.</p>
<p>Please see the attached form for details, and do let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this rise.</p>
<p>Kind regards,</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and also the form attached to the e-mail, signed by the landlord's agent, contains the same mistake:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The starting date for the new rent will be</p>
<p>30/02/2022</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Do I have any right to interpret that as &quot;not-in-February&quot;, and to increase the payment on the next month?</p>
<hr />
<p>It's clearly a typo, right. But what should I assume that <em>30/02/2022</em> was meant to be <em>28/02/2022</em> and not <em>30/03/2022</em>? Both typos are equally likely, no?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Do I have any right to interpret that as &quot;not-in-February&quot;, and to increase the payment on the next month?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>No. The letter is clear in that it serves as a one-month notice for rent increase (I'm assuming that the timing of the letter complies with your entitlement to the notice).</p>
<p>Even the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_proferentem" rel="nofollow noreferrer">doctrine of contra proferentem</a> would be unavailing because <em>contra proferentem</em> is about adopting from among <em>reasonable</em> interpretations the one that is favorable to the non-draftsman. No reasonable interpretation can be premised on an unreal date such as the 30th of February.</p>
