Pursuant to section 215(2A) of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004), the landlord can serve a section 21 notice if the deposit has been returned in full or with such deductions as are agreed between the landlord and the tenant. It was clarified in the Court of Appeal case of Spencer v Taylor that the section 21(1)(b) notice procedure can be used where

Except where expressly referred to, this Q&A does not address issues which affect the validity of a notice served under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988), such as: • failure to protect the tenant’s deposit in a deposit scheme (as to which see Practice Note: Tenancy deposit schemes) • failure to obtain licensing for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) (as to which see Practice Note: Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)) and, • the new rules introduced by the Deregulation Act 2015 (DA 2015) which apply to English tenancies which were entered into on/after 1 October 2015 Broadly, this question must be considered under two heads. First, there is a category of cases which contain: • English tenancies entered into before 1 October 2015, or statutory periodic tenancies which arose on/after 1 October 2015 at the end of a fixed

The answer to this question is likely to depend on a detailed analysis of all the facts. To be entitled to a new lease, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) must apply. By LTA 1954, s 23(1), it applies to ‘any tenancy where the property comprised in the tenancy is or includes premises which are occupied by the tenant and are so occupied for the purposes of a business carried on by him or for those and other purposes’. The following issues may arise (among others): Who is the tenant? As

A persistent breach of a tenant covenant in a lease does not cause the lease to be forfeited. For forfeiture, the landlord must have the intention to forfeit, and demonstrate that with an unequivocal act. That act is usually changing the locks, or otherwise retaking possession, serving a claim for possession, or reletting the premises. In the case of a breach of an alienation

This Q&A considers the requirements in order to serve a valid section 21 notice pursuant to the Housing Act 1988 in circumstances where a six-month fixed term tenancy commenced in 2013 and, thereafter, became a statutory periodic tenancy. The requirements necessary to be complied with when serving a section 21 notice upon a tenant were made significantly more onerous by the commencement of the Deregulation Act 2015 (DA 2015) and the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/1646. In particular, DA 2015 provides that, in respect of a tenancy which commenced on or after 1 October 2015 (including renewals), the landlord must serve the tenant with an energy performance certificate and gas safety certificate prior to the tenancy commencing. At first blush, it would seem as though

Succession On the death of a Rent Act 1977 tenant, family members other than spouses can succeed to the tenancy, but only as assured tenants paying a market rent, and only if they have lived in the dwelling house for at least two years before the death of the original tenant—see Schedule 1, para 3, which provides as follows: (1) Where paragraph 2 above does not apply, but a person who was a member of the original tenant's family was residing with him [in

In England, a section 21 notice may not be served at a time when the landlord is in breach of a requirement prescribed by regulations, section 21A(1) of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988). The regulations presently in force are the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/1646. In particular, the landlord must give the tenant an energy performance certificate (under the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/3118) and a gas safety certificate (under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, SI 1998/2451). The landlord must also provide a copy of the document entitled ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England’, as published by the Department for

A section 21 notice (pursuant to the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988)) enables a landlord to bring an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) to an end without needing to give a reason. However, the requirements that must be met in order for a section 21 notice to be valid, as introduced by the Deregulation Act 2015 and Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 (Prescribed Requirement Regulations 2015), SI 2015/1646, are numerous, and failure to comply with them will render a section 21 notice invalid. HA 1988, s 21A (1) provides that: ‘A notice under subsection (1) or (4) of section 21 may not

Where a tenant holds over at the end of a lease, the nature of their interest in the property will depend on the parties' objective intentions, ascertained from all the circumstances. It may be that a new periodic lease has been created, or the former tenant may have some lesser interest such as a tenant as will. For example, in Dreamgate Properties v Arnot [1997] EGCS 121 (not reported by LexisNexis®), a quarter's rent had been demanded and accepted (the demand generated by computer) after the end of the

Options to break (or early resumption clauses) in tenancies of more than two years require 12 months' notice. If resumption of the whole or part is or may be required more quickly, a shorter fixed term or a periodic tenancy may be appropriate. For further information, see commentary: Letting of Two Years or Less: Scammel & Densham's Law of Agricultural Holdings [12.14]. Section 7 of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (ATA 1995) overrides or supplements the agreement between the parties where a tenancy is for a fixed term of more than two years and

A grazing licence is a licence granted over land which allows a person to enter onto land with livestock for the purpose of grazing that land. A grazing licence is usually granted for a short period of time, for example the summer period. As with any licence, the licensee is given access to the land but is not granted exclusive possession, in contrast with a lease or tenancy, where the tenant is granted exclusive possession. A licence fee is ordinarily payable by the grazing licensee. The label that parties put on a relationship

Section 3 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995) provides that, with respect to those tenancies to which LT(C)A 1995 applies, the benefit and burden of all landlord and tenant covenants of a tenancy shall be annexed and incident to the whole, and to each and every part, of the premises demised by the tenancy and the reversion