This Q&A is relevant in circumstances in which buildings are to be removed from the land when the tenant vacates, notwithstanding that it is highly unusual for a landlord to request demolition of buildings on the expiry of a lease. The express provisions of the lease will govern the circumstances set out in the question. The lease should be drafted to ensure that

The Regulatory Reform (Agricultural Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2006 (RRO), SI 2006/2805 amended the livelihood 'test' for succession to a tenancy under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (AHA 1986) to enable tenants to undertake non-farming activities (diversified activities) with the landlord’s

Section 8 possession proceedings Part I of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) makes provision for assured tenancies (ATs) (including assured shorthold tenancies) to be granted to tenants. HA 1988, s 7 provides that a court shall not make an order for possession in relation to an AT except on one or more of the grounds contained in HA 1988, Sch 2, Pt 1 (such as rent arrears, causing nuisance or annoyance, or other breaches of tenancy). HA 1988, s 8 requires the landlord, prior to instigating possession proceedings, to serve on the tenant a notice in a prescribed form (setting out, among other things, the statutory ground(s) on which possession is being sought and particulars of how that ground or those grounds are satisfied). The prescribed form is contained in the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/620.

Many leases allow the landlord to recover from the tenant monies expended towards the maintenance and upkeep of the property and any common areas, by way of a service charge. Different leases will make different provisions as to how service charges are recovered, when they are payable, and for what they can be charged. There are various statutory provisions that apply to service charges. These include the provisions of section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985), which state that a leaseholder is not liable to pay a service charge unless a demand for payment has been sent in accordance with the statutory requirements for demands for service charges, within 18 months of the cost having been incurred, or if the landlord has notified the leaseholder in writing within that 18 month period that a cost

It is unlikely that such an action by the landlord would amount to forfeiture of the lease. If the landlord did not have any rights under the terms of the lease, then such an action would be a trespass and/or a breach of the covenant

In answering this Q&A, we have considered what evidence is needed to be exhibited to an accelerated possession claim. An accelerated possession claim is one made under CPR 55, and is designed to be a quick and easy way for a private landlord, or private registered provider of housing, to obtain possession of property without a court hearing in circumstances where there is unlikely to be a defence to the claim. It is only available where: • the tenancy was entered into on or after January 15, 1989 • the only purpose of the proceedings is to recover possession—no other claim may be made for example, for rent arrears, but the court can award the landlord’s fixed costs • the tenancy did not immediately follow an assured tenancy which was not an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) • the tenancy was an AST • the

We have assumed that the property in this Q&A is residential and that the correct procedure has been followed in respect of enforcement of the possession order, ie that the landlord has waited for the possession order to expire and thereafter used a court bailiff to execute the order, as set out in Q&A: Can a landlord change the locks on a property which appears to have been abandoned, where the landlord has obtained an order for possession but has not yet instructed court bailiff? In respect of the belongings left at the premises, where goods are left behind by a tenant (following forfeiture, surrender or expiry of the term), in the absence of any express

Is it sufficient for a landlord to serve notice and evict one tenant in a joint tenancy? Sections 8 and 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) are silent on its face as to the situation where there are joint tenants, something which is far from unusual. The answer is provided by section 45(3) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) which provides: 'Where two or more persons jointly constitute either the landlord or the tenant in relation to a tenancy, then, except where this Part of this Act otherwise provides, any reference to the landlord or to the tenant is a reference to all the persons who jointly constitute the landlord or the tenant, as the case may require.' From this it follows that the notice must be given to both of the tenants. Although HA 1988, s 21 deals with the situation where there are joint landlords, making provision for one of them

In the scenario you describe, one view is that the property may be included in a later auction, provided: • the qualifying tenants are given the required particulars of the later

Serving a valid section 25 notice For a valid section 25 notice to be served, certain requirements must be met. These are explained in detail in Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination. In addition, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, Part 2 (Notices) Regulations 2004, SI 2004/1005,Sch 1 requires specific forms to be used, in order to serve a valid section 25 notice. The different forms must be used in different situations. Pursuant to Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, Part 2 (Notices) Regulations 2004, SI 2004/1005, Sch 1, Form 7 must be used to end a tenancy to which the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 applies where the landlord is opposed to the grant of a new tenancy, but

It has been assumed that there is no succession to a member of the tenant’s family. On the death of the tenant, the tenancy and the benefit of the notice of claim will form part of the deceased’s estate and vest in their personal representatives. As there has been no grant of probate, the counternotice should be addressed to ‘The Personal Representatives of’ the deceased

Once a valid section 25 notice has been served, it cannot be unilaterally withdrawn or amended (Hutchinson v Lambeth and Smith v Draper). We are not aware of any authority in respect of whether or not proposing a lease term longer than the landlord’s head lease would render a section 25 notice invalid. The proposed terms contained in the section 25 notice are the starting point for negotiations. For more information regarding the court’s determination of the terms of the new lease in the event that those negotiations are not successful, see Practice Note: LTA 1954—terms of the renewal lease. However, if the landlord’s notice includes, as one of the terms