A friend told me their landlady had given them notice to quit after only 12 months of a 2-year lease.
I said they could ignore this as it wasn't legal under the standard domestic lease.
But we looked at the contract, and it had a clause at the end that allows either party to terminate the lease after 12 months with only one month's notice.

I have never seen this in any domestic lease before, certainly it's never been in any one I've signed.
Also that clause has to be filled in and signed separately.

If you are signing a lease, read it and don't automatically agree to this if they've got this version of the contract. If you want a two-year lease make sure that's what you get. If the landlord insists, well, I wouldn't buy any furniture.

Of course, if both parties agree, the lease can be terminated early in any case. But you don't want to be thrown out on a month's notice because a landlord thinks he can get a better deal.

This clause was always in my rent contracts. The principle was called “first year fixed”. Next year allowed both sides to cut the rent short (by one month notice) without paying to the end of the contract. The agents always asked me which option I would prefer: fixed or not fixed.

Lucky to get even the option of a two-year contract nowadays, my LL refuses and ramps year after year - god knows what happen in April!

I spent at least six months looking for a new place, then moving in and getting everything sorted. Having to do that every fucking year would drive me insane.