There is no minimum period of ownership for qualifying tenants to be eligible under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (LTA 1987). This question raises the issue, however, of whether a tenant is a 'qualifying tenant' before their lease is properly registered. For the reasons that follow, it appears that they are. The registration gap is the period of time between the completion of a transfer of a property between vendor and purchaser and the subsequent registration of that transaction on the register of title at HM Land Registry. The reason that the registration gap is potentially important is due to the effect of section

The tenant of a house which is held under a long lease has the right to acquire an extended lease of the house and premises under Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (LRA 1967),

The answer to this question will depend on the exact situation that presents itself. The first point to note is that, in general terms, the relationship of landlord and tenant is a contractual one. Therefore for a tenant to make a claim against their landlord (or landlord’s estate) they would need to show that they had suffered a loss of some sort. The main difficulty with such a claim is that at common law a tenant is entitled to call for and inspect their landlord’s own lease (Hill v Harris). Therefore, a tenant is normally assumed to have constructive notice of the terms of the landlord’s lease. This makes it difficult for a tenant to assert that the unlawful subletting occurred without their knowledge. If the landlord has encouraged the loss of the tenant’s use of the property, then they may be in breach of an actual or implied covenant

Although the landlord does not own the adjoining land over which the rights are exercised (we are assuming that the landlord owns the dominant tenement), it would have been able to grant the benefit of the rights to a tenant either by granting the lease ‘subject to and with the benefit of all matters referred to on [insert relevant title numbers]’ or by granting ‘the

The requirement for mortgagee consent to a surrender will depend upon the terms of the charge. Section 100 of the Law of Property Act 1925 grants powers to mortgagors to

Case study A tenant has commenced proceedings pursuant to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) by service of a notice of claim. However, terms for the new lease have been agreed between the parties and the scheduled court hearing has been vacated. Where the new lease is completed, does a tenant need to notify the court of completion of the lease? Leasehold enfranchisement The LRHUDA 1993 provides a mechanism for a qualifying tenant to secure an extension to their lease on payment of a premium. It is often the case that the price at which this extension is to be granted is a matter of dispute, and where the parties are unable to agree, it falls to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the correct price to be paid, or the other terms of acquisition. This will be based upon

In order to answer this question it is necessary to consider the circumstances in which a lease may be brought to an end by surrender. Unless that happens, or the lease is brought to an end by some other means, the tenant remains bound by the obligations although is also entitled to exclusive possession. Once the lease has been brought to an end, it is possible for the parties to be in dispute as to their liabilities while the lease existed. The key point however is to identify whether it has in fact been brought to an end. It is important to note that in the present case it is stated that the keys have been handed back and that there is to be no access

In answering this Q&A, we have assumed: • that an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) is extended on a year by year basis by a new formal AST for each renewal (rather than by verbal or casual agreement) • that the property is a qualifying flat for the purposes of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993), rather than a standalone house, for which the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 would apply An AST is a form of assured tenancy, save that ASTs do not provide long term security of tenure. A landlord can gain possession of the property at the end of the fixed term under either the available grounds under the s 8 procedure, or the s 21 procedure. Where the tenant remains in occupation after the AST expires and the parties do not enter into a new

It is unlikely that the garage itself will qualify as a ‘flat’ so as to entitle the buyer to a right to extend the lease of the garage under Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993). However, the definition of flat is extended by LRHUDA 1993, s 62 to: ‘(2)…include any garage, outhouse, garden, yard and appurtenances belonging to, or usually enjoyed with, the flat and let to the tenant with the flat on the relevant date (or, in a case where an application is made under section 50(1), on the date of the making of the application).’ (our emphasis) This means that, where the garage is held under a separate lease, two questions arise. First, does the garage ‘belong to’

The term must be construed having regard to the words used and the context in which it appears. Effect must be given to each and every word separately and when read together. It must not be construed simply on its own and out of context. The landlord and tenant covenants should not overlap. If the landlord’s repairing covenant also includes an obligation to keep the structure in repair then this will assist the parties in ascertaining the various obligations and how they

A fit note (previously known as a sick note) is a certification from a doctor or other suitable medical practitioner that a person is unwell and unable to work. Organisations may provide for different periods before which a fit note is required, but it is fairly standard for self-certification to be accepted for sickness absence of between four and seven days and to require a fit note for illnesses lasting longer than that period. For further information, see: • Practice Note: Sick pay—Fit notes • Precedent: Policy and procedure—sickness and attendance (clause 5.2) • GOV.UK guidance relating to fit notes In relation to term-time employees, the employment contracts of many teachers,

A transfer of value to a qualifying charity is exempt regardless of its value or how it is made. The exemption is set out at section 23 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984. The recipient must satisfy the definition of ‘charity’ for the exemption to apply, namely any body of persons or trust established for charitable purposes only. No part of the transferred property must become applicable for purposes other