Section 34(1)(b) of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) applies to tenancies granted to an existing protected tenant of the same landlord, whether of the same or of other accommodation. Rent Act 1977 protection HA 1988, s 34(1)(b) provides that: ‘a tenancy which is entered into on or after the commencement of this Act cannot be a protected tenancy, unless it is granted to a person (alone or jointly with others) who, immediately before the tenancy was granted, was a protected or statutory tenant and is so granted by the person who at that time was the landlord (or one of the joint landlords) under the protected

Section 34(1)(b) of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) applies to tenancies granted to an existing protected tenant of the same landlord, whether of the same or of other accommodation. Rent Act 1977 protection HA 1988, s 34(1)(b) provides that: ‘a tenancy which is entered into on or after the commencement of this Act cannot be a protected tenancy, unless it is granted to a person (alone or jointly with others) who, immediately before the tenancy was granted, was a protected or statutory tenant and is so granted by the person who at that time was the landlord (or one of the joint landlords) under the protected or

A landlord may oppose the grant of a new tenancy pursuant to one or more of the grounds set out in section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). These include ground (b), a persistent delay in paying rent and ground (c), other substantial breaches of covenant by the tenant or any other reason connected with the tenant’s use or management of the holding. A landlord may only rely on the ground(s) of opposition specified in any LTA 1954, s 25 notice, or response to a tenant’s LTA 1954, s 26 request, in any subsequent application for a new tenancy made by the tenant, or application for the termination of the tenant’s tenancy made by the landlord. Grounds (a)–(c) all involve some default by the tenant, whereas no fault on the part of the tenant

A lease can be forfeited only in two ways. The first is by peaceable re-entry; the second by the bringing of legal proceedings. Forfeiture must be carried out by way of a final and positive act which cannot be retracted (Serjeant v Nash) and must be accompanied by an intention to forfeit. Physical re-entry is usually done by changing the locks of the premises. Alternatively, a constructive physical re-entry takes place where the landlord lets into occupation a third party and maintains them as tenant. However, merely entering in order to secure the premises after a tenant absconds

This Q&A covers the situation where there was no landlord and tenant relationship with the former occupiers of the property (ie that they were squatters). There are essentially two parts to the question: • what to do if the squatters break in to the property, and • whether the landowner is an involuntary bailee of goods left at the property (and the best way to dispose of the goods with least risk of a claim) Break-in If the squatters (or anyone else) break in to the property, the police should be called immediately. Whether the police will assist will depend on the situation. Civil proceedings to recover possession of the property (depending on the full circumstances) may be necessary. This may involve seeking a new possession order (depending on the length of time since the

In order for the landlord to serve a valid, section 45 counter-notice under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993), the counter-notice must comply with certain requirements. These requirements include that the counter notice must: • admit the tenant’s claim in principle (in which case the counter-notice must state which of the tenant’s proposals as to the terms of the new lease are accepted, or make counter-proposals as to those which are not), or • deny the claim (stating reasons, which cannot be amended or added to later) • whether the claim is admitted or denied, state whether a landlord intends to seek a court order preventing the exercise of the right to a new lease on the ground of intended redevelopment of all or

There do not appear to be any legal obligations placed on a landlord to carry out safety inspections of an oil-powered heating system in a rented residential property. This is in contrast to gas appliances, where a landlord is obliged under the Gas Safety Regulations 1998, SI 1998/2451 to carry out periodical inspections of gas appliances and to provide a record of this to the tenant. A landlord who fails to comply with the gas safety requirements will be precluded from serving a valid notice pursuant to section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to determine an assured shorthold tenancy (AST), but there is no such pre-condition

Withdrawal of landlord’s counter-notice At any time before a new lease is entered into under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993), the tenant can give a notice of withdrawal of the initial notice to the competent landlord and every other landlord and to any third party to the tenant's lease under LRHUDA 1993, s 52. However, we have been unable to find an authority for or any commentary on an equivalent provision with respect to a landlord’s counter-notice. It is worth noting that, in the event that it is possible for a landlord to withdraw their counter-notice, the result of this may be the same result as if they had not served a counter-notice at all. In cases where the landlord fails to serve a counter-notice from the date specified in the initial notice, the participating tenants may apply to the County Court for a vesting order. This application is not for a court order

Section 82 of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985) states at subsection (1) that: '(1) A secure tenancy which is either— (a) a weekly or other periodic tenancy, or (b) a tenancy for a term certain but subject to termination by the landlord, cannot be brought to an end by the landlord except [as] [mentioned in subsection (1A)]' Section 82(1A) provides for three methods of termination, of which the method at subsection (1A)(a) is relevant to this scenario, ie: 'The tenancy may be brought to an end by the landlord— (a) obtaining— (i)

Section 25(3) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) provides that the date of termination to be specified must not be earlier than the earliest date on which, apart from LTA 1954, the tenancy could have been brought to an end by notice to quit given by

One of the methods of termination of a lease with security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), is service of a notice under LTA 1954, s 25. Where a landlord has served a valid section 25 notice, the lease will come to an end on the date specified in the notice unless

Where a lease has the protection of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) and the landlord brings it to an end by validly serving a notice under LTA 1954, s 25, the lease will end on the date specified in