The term ‘rogue landlord’ describes a residential landlord who knowingly defies his legal and contractual obligations by renting unsafe and substandard accommodation to tenants. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (the Act) has introduced a raft of measures to enable tenants and local authorities to bring criminal landlords to justice and force them to improve […]
WHAT IS A TENANCY DEPOSIT
Section 212(8) of the Housing Act 2004 defines a tenancy deposit to mean any money intended to be held by the landlord or otherwise as security for: The performance of any obligations of the tenant, or The discharge of any tenant liability arising under in connection with the tenancy Effective from 6 April 2007 sections […]
HAVE YOU BREACHED THE TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME
Tenancy Deposit Schemes From the 6thApril 2007 sections 212 -215 of the Housing Act 2004 (subject to amendments) requires all landlords of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) in England and Wales to: Protect any tenancy deposit held by the landlord in an authorised tenancy deposit scheme, Comply with the ‘initial requirements’ of such a scheme […]
SECURITY OF TENURE FOR ASSURED SHORTHOLD TENANCIES
A landlord may obtain an order for possession of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) by either issuing a section 21 notice or by issuing a relevant notice pertaining to a Ground under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. The Grounds The Grounds are divided into 2 categories: Mandatory Grounds where if the ground is […]
LANDLORDS MUST CONDUCT A ‘RIGHT TO RENT’ CHECK
All private landlords in England are now legally required to check that new tenants are lawfully resident in the UK before renting the property to them. This ‘right to rent’ scheme is estimated to effect 1.8 million landlords and 2.6million tenants. The law applies to any residential tenancy agreement entered into on or after the […]
RETALIATORY EVICTIONS ARE ILLEGAL – REVENGE EVICTIONS
Retaliatory evictions, also known as revenge evictions, is a problem frequently encountered by assured shorthold tenants who have complained to their landlord or the local authority about the condition of the property they are letting. The landlord immediately reacts by serving a section 21 notice to regain possession of the property. This revenge eviction serves […]
RESTRICTIONS TO OBTAINING SECTION 21 POSSESSION
Before a landlord of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) may rely upon a section 21 possession notice he must consider the relevance of the following issues: The supply of a ‘prescribed requirement’ Security of tenancy deposits A moratorium for the first six months of the tenancy Houses in Multiple Occupation/ Unlicensed Premises Retaliatory Evictions […]
NO PRESCRIBED INFORMATION OR SECURITY OF DEPOSIT: NO S.21 NOTICE
A private landlord is legally required to provide specific information to a tenant so that the landlord may rely upon the service of section 21 notice. Section 21A Section 21A of the Housing Act 1988 sets out that a section 21 notice may not be given at any time when the landlord of an assured […]
AN ASSURED SHORTHOLD TENANCY – A Guide
An assured shorthold tenancy, also known as an AST,is the most common form of private tenancy within England and Wales and was introduced by the Housing Act 1988.The essential difference between an assured tenancy and AST is that there is no real security of tenure for assured shorthold tenants. Section 21 Notice A crucial component […]
