Landlords' Rights

The rights of residential landlords depend upon when the original tenancy was entered into. This article will only discuss tenancies granted after 15 January 1989, which are known as Assured Shorthold Tenancies ("ASTs"). Under these tenancies the landlord has an absolute right to possession at the end of the fixed term and so are very popular with landlords.

An AST needs to be for a fixed term and for a minimum duration of 6 months. Most landlords will choose to have 6 or 12 month agreements. A landlord can bring the AST to an end on the expiry of the fixed term, after the fixed term, or during the fixed term in certain circumstances. However, the AST cannot be brought to an end in the first 6 months.

Under ASTs the tenant has no automatic right to stay in the property after the fixed term (known as security of tenure). The first step to obtaining possession is for the landlord to serve a Section 21 notice informing the tenant that he requires possession of the property.

Unless the tenant leaves voluntarily after service of the notice, the landlord will need to issue a claim to ask the court for an order for possession. If the landlord follows the correct procedure, i.e. a Section 21 notice has been correctly served on the tenant, the court must make an order for possession in favour of the landlord.

If a landlord wants to reclaim possession of his or her property during the fixed term, the grounds for possession are set out in the Housing Act 1988. These grounds are either mandatory grounds for possession i.e. the court must make an order for possession, or discretionary grounds i.e. the court may make an order for possession if it considers it reasonable to do so. The tenancy agreement must also allow the tenancy to be brought to an end using these terms.

The most popular mandatory ground is substantial rent arrears. The most popular discretionary grounds include persistent delay in paying rent, there are at least some arrears of rent and waste or neglect of the property. When a landlord is seeking possession of the property during the fixed term of the tenancy a Section 8 notice will need to be served on the tenant before proceedings can be commenced, and not a Section 21 notice.

It is important to remember that if a tenant does not vacate a property, then the landlord cannot simply enter and change the locks. A court order should always be obtained in order to avoid any threat of a claim against the landlord.