Question:
I need to move from one rented home to another. I don't have a lease agreement with my landlord. I have desperately been trying to get someone to move into the house before the first of August so as to avoid losing my deposit. I'm advertising at my expense.

Do I still have to give the owner of the house a month's notice and, if so, does the month start on the day the notice was given, in my case the 17th of July 2008, or on the first of the next month?

With no contract, does this man have the right to hold my deposit?

Answer:
If you have no rental contract in place your questions are actually moot. Neither you nor the landlord can be held to any conditions.

Normally a lease would state the notice period and terms of releasing of the deposit. So, technically, you don't have to give him any notice.

However, he has your deposit as leverage. The only way not to lose in this game is to stay there for the full month in lieu of your deposit.

The onus is not on you to find another tenant.

If it gets ugly and lawyers become involved then it will cost you three or four times the monthly rental, so it's really worth your while putting it down to a bad experience.

You should never rent a home without an agreement in place.