There are over 50 Acts of Parliament and 70 pieces of delegated legislation which affect landlords owning residential property for let. Below is a sample of the main statutes and the areas they cover:
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
The default for all residential tenancies is the assured shorthold tenancy. However, Schedule 1 of the Housing Act 1988 contains certain tenancies which cannot be assured shorthold tenancies, for example resident landlords and tenancies where the rent payable is greater than £100,000 per annum.
A brief list of the exclusions are:
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
Technically, no. In theory you could enter into a short-term tenancy of 1 day. However, under the provisions of the Housing Act a possession order from the court can only be sought after six months. So this tends to be the minimum term to ensure proceedings can be brought immediately following breach.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
Yes, for all private sector residential leases. However, there is a complaints process where a tenant has previously had an agreement for the same property and rent is increased at an unreasonable level. Rents for social housing can be capped by planning restrictions and limited to an affordable level.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
Yes, but this would need to be agreed at the outset and would be unusual for a tenant to accept. If a fixed-term agreement is in place a landlord could only increase the rent at the end of the term by a reasonable amount.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
Yes, other than at the end of the term, a landlord may only terminate a lease for a failure to pay rent or material breach of an obligation. Possession requires a court order.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
A tenant can only terminate by agreement, by assignment, by subletting (if allowed) or by material breach by the landlord. It is fairly usual for a break clause exercisable by the tenant to be included in the assured shorthold tenancy to allow the tenant to leave before the end of the term (but after a minimum term).
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
A court order is needed for possession during the term. A possession order does not take effect until the tenant has been living in the property for six months.
In order to bring proceedings for failure to pay rent the landlord must give either 14 days' notice or two months' notice depending on the breach and type of tenancy. Most tenants tend to leave once this is issued. However, if the tenants don’t leave it will generally take between 6–8 weeks for a judge to grant a possession order. Tenants then have 14 days to vacate following which a bailiff needs to be appointed to remove them. This can take 5–10 weeks.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
It is more usual for the rent to be all inclusive and reflect any insurance, taxes etc which the landlord is liable for as owner of the reversion. With modern build to rent, it is often used as a selling point that all utility bills, such as broadband and heating, are also included in the monthly figure. This is felt to be one of the advantages of renting.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
Only a residential lease of more than 21 years needs to be registered. Assured shorthold tenancies are not registerable. There is a complicated land tax for long lease and freehold purchases, but AST's do not incur taxes for the tenant.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
Long leaseholders have the right of pre-emption, right to manage and right to purchase the freehold. It is possible to structure around the pre-emption rights, but the right to purchase the freehold and manage are very difficult to avoid.
Last modified 17 Jun 2024
Can the tenant’s right to terminate the lease be restricted?
A tenant can only terminate by agreement, by assignment, by subletting (if allowed) or by material breach by the landlord. It is fairly usual for a break clause exercisable by the tenant to be included in the assured shorthold tenancy to allow the tenant to leave before the end of the term (but after a minimum term).
Last modified 17 Jun 2024