IELTS Semi-formal Letter: Letter to landlord regarding moving out and recommendation

The task

You are going to leave your apartment in an English-speaking country and your landlord is a very good person, who has assisted you a lot during your stay. Meanwhile, your friend wants to rent the flat after you.

Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter:

→let your landlord know about your leaving
→thank your landlord for his/her help
→tell him/her about your friend

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear ...,

Model answer

Band 8 sample letter

Band 8193 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Dear Mr. Henderson,

I am writing to formally provide notice that I will be vacating my apartment at the end of next month. My final day of residency will be the 30th of September, as I am relocating to another city for a new job opportunity.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your kindness throughout my two-year stay here. You have been an exceptionally supportive landlord, always addressing maintenance requests promptly and offering helpful local advice when I first arrived. Your attentiveness made settling into a new country a seamless experience, and I have truly enjoyed living in this property.

As I prepare to leave, a close friend of mine, Sarah Jenkins, is actively searching for a flat in this area. Knowing how well-maintained and comfortable your property is, I mentioned it to her, and she is very keen to view it. She is a quiet, reliable professional who would certainly respect the premises as much as I have. Please let me know if you would be open to meeting her or showing her the unit before I move out.

Thank you once again for everything.

Best regards,

James Sterling

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

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Examiner's view

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response achieves all criteria by addressing every bullet point with a natural flow and maintaining a consistent, respectful semi-formal tone throughout. A common Band 6 mistake is failing to link the friend's recommendation to the landlord's specific property or using overly casual language that lacks the appropriate level of professional courtesy required for this relationship.

→Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.
→Polite and friendly at once: a few contractions are fine, slang is not. Close with Yours sincerely or Kind regards.
→State the purpose in the first two sentences; small talk costs words you need for the bullets.

6 phrases

Useful phrases from the letter

vacating
the act of leaving a place or property
relocating
moving to a different place to live or work
attentiveness
the state of being helpful and caring toward others
seamless
happening without any problems or sudden changes
premises
a building together with its surrounding land
reliable
someone who can be trusted to behave well

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?+

Semi-formal. Write to someone you know but not closely, such as a manager, landlord or neighbour, using their title and surname.

How many words should an IELTS General Training letter be?+

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.

What does the examiner look for?+

Keep practising

More giving information letters

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