Tag: Assured Shorthold Tenancy

Landlord and Tenant Law – The Importance of A Written Tenancy Agreement

Does a Tenancy Have to Be in Writing? Under the Law of Property Act 1925 and the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provision) Act 1989 any contract for the creation of an interest in land is invalid and unenforceable unless it is do so in writing. Interest in land would include mortgages, sales and transfers, charges or leases. The exception to this rule is that an oral lease may be created so long as it is;

* For the best rent reasonably obtainable (i.e. a market rent) * For a period of less than 3 years

This means that a tenancy can generally be created by verbal a agreement, although this isn’t advisable as verbal contracts would be difficult to prove and if the relationship between the landlord and the tenant breaks down, an expensive court proceeding may be have to take place in the absence of clear and unambiguous terms. This is why a written tenancy agreement is therefore in the best interests of both the landlord and the tenant.

Written Statement of Terms At the moment every residential tenancy is presumed to be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy unless there is an agreement that states otherwise. Tenancies of this type are subject to special rules.

When there is no written tenancy agreement, section 20A of the Housing Act 1988 provides that the tenant is entitled to be provided on demand with a written statement setting out the following terms of the tenancy:

* Term or length of the tenancy

* Date on which the tenancy commenced

* Dates on which rent is payable

* The rent due under the tenancy

The landlord is required by law to provide this statement within 28 days of receiving written notice from the tenant. Any failure to comply with the requirements of this act wil be classed as a criminal offence and if a landlord fails provide the requested statement within 28 days, they may be convicted and fined up to 2,500.

What Should I Put In The Tenancy Agreement? The information on dates and rent payments that landlords are obliged to provide the tenant under the Housing Act, a tenancy agreement will usually include provisions which relate to the following:

* Details of additional bills & service charges

* Inspections

* Procedure for ending the tenancy and resolving disputes

* Procedure for varying the rent

* Responsibility for maintenance

* Restrictions on the use of the property

In all tenancies, the tenant will have a number of basic rights which cannot be taken away or restricted, and any provision of the tenancy agreement which attempts to do so will become invalid. Where one provision or term of a contract such as a tenancy is found to be invalid, other provisions which refer or relate to that term may be unenforceable. Because of this, care should be taken when drafting a tenancy agreement and you may want to consult a professional.

If you own several properties which you rent out, it may be more cost-effective for you to ask a lawyer to draft you a standard-form tenancy agreement which you can customise for each individual property rather than consulting a solicitor for each individual tenancy.

Landlord and Tenant Law – Procedure For Ending A Tenancy

There are a variety of situations in which a tenancy can be ended early by either the tenant or the landlord usually where there has been a breakdown in the relationship, although these situations are not covered by this article. This article explores the situations where a tenancy is terminated by mutual consent or when a fixed term has expired.

Ending a Tenancy In Accordance With A Written Tenancy Agreement
A tenancy can be ended at any time if the landlord and tenant both agree on this. A mutual ending of a tenancy agreement is referred to as a “surrender” of the tenancy by the tenant. There are two ways that effect a surrender of tenancy:

1) Surrender by Operation of Law
This is when a tenant gives up the occupation of a property to the landlord, in which the landlord accepts this as the tenant would have surrendered their tenancy. This can be evidenced by actions that demonstrate a clear intent to surrender, such as removing all their possession from the property or the handing over of keys over to the landlord.

2) Surrender by Declaration
This is when a tenant signs a written document stating that he has surrendered his tenancy to the landlord.

Under section 5 of the Housing Act 1988, where a tenant surrenders the property, the landlord has the right to retake possession. But, the landlord must ensure that the tenancy has been properly terminated before he re-lets the property to another tenant, otherwise he may be guilty of an unlawful eviction.

Ending a Tenancy In Accordance With A Written Tenancy Agreement
This is where a written tenancy agreement exists and it will often contain provisions about ending a tenancy early. Either the landlord or the tenant may have a right to terminate tenancy by following the procedure set out in the written agreement.

Certain types of tenancy, such as Assured and Assured Shorthold tenancies provide the tenant with security of tenure for an initial period, in which the tenancy cannot end without the tenants agreement. This would be the case regardless of what rights to end the tenancy the landlord is granted by the written tenancy agreement.

Ending a Tenancy at the End of a Fixed Period
A tenant has the right to end a tenancy at the end of the fixed period by vacating the property on the last day of the fixed period and it is not necessary to give a notice. This would include when the tenant has an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and the initial fixed period ended. However, if the tenant stays in the property beyond the end of the fixed term, then a periodic rolling tenancy will be created and he will need to give appropriate notice in order to terminate this.

Under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 a landlord who wishes to end a fixed tenancy at the end of the fixed period must serve a section 21 notice to the tenant. This must be done at least two months before the end of the tenancy. If the landlord fails to give the appropriate notice, when the fixed period ends a periodic rolling tenancy will be created and it will be necessary to give the tenant appropriate notice in order to terminate this as well.

Ending a Periodic Tenancy
When a fixed term tenancy ends and the landlord has not given a notice to quit to the tenant or if the tenant remains in the property, a periodic tenancy will be created. This will roll on from month to month until it is terminated by either party. If the fixed term tenancy was governed by a written tenancy agreement, it may state the length of the period, although in the absence of this it will usually be a periodic monthly tenancy.

A periodic tenancy can be terminated by giving written notice equal to the length of the rental period, although this notice must never be less than 4 weeks. So in the case of a bi-monthly tenancy, two months notice must be given and in the cases of a monthly, fortnightly and weekly periodic tenancy, 4 weeks notice is necessary.