Last edited 26 Apr 2023

Landlord and Tenant Acts

The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1954 was divided into two parts. It was aimed to provide security of tenure for residents (part 1) and businesses (part 2) of properties over a specified number of years. However the Housing Acts of 1924 and 1930 were in many ways more relevant residential tenants, particularly social housing tennants, the latter of which obliged local councils to clear slum housing, and provide re-housing.

Ammendments to the same Landlord and Tenant Act started to require the giving of information by landlords to tenants such as the rent books in 1962, gradually oriented more to commercial tenants, as residential aspects of the Act became superseded by other legislation. The Act of 1985 increased the information requirements on landlords, including obligations to repair. In effect the the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1985, reviewed the notions of covenants in leases but also consolidated certain provisions in law of landlord and tenants formerly found in the Housing Acts, together with those in the original Landlord and Tenant Act of 1962.

The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1987, granted tenants a right of first refusal of a disposal (offer) under certain circumstances and, according to the government website is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before April 2023. Though it is important to note that many provisons for both landords and tenants became increasingly also covered by a vareity of other legislative vehicles. For example key provisions of the Housing Act 1988 was the introduction of assured shorthold tenancies, which gave tenants the right to stay in a property for a fixed period of time and gave landlords the right to regain possession of the property after the tenancy had ended. This relates to assignment or the transfer of rights, to balance where consent could previously be withheld by landlords for no good reason, the aim being to ensure refusal only for good reason.

There are a number of other potential legislative changes that will impact both landlords and tenant via changes in energy perfrmance requirements of buildings to the Renters Reform Bill, which may see all tenancies becoming periodic, with fixed term tenancies, section 21 notices and blanket bans on tenants banned.

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