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Acts of Parliament and Judicial Cases Related to Property

Acts of Parliament and Judicial Cases Related to Property
  • Housing Acts 1925 (LPA) - the foundation reforming most modern housing laws - comprises several acts including:
    • The Land Registration Act 1925 (LRA) as amended by Land Registration Act 2002
  • The landlord and Tenant Act 1954 - Provides security of tenure for commercial /business tenants and the right to remain in occupation at tenancy termination on the same terms as the pre-existing lease. The tenancy need not end on tenancy termination.  It is this Housing Act, section 47,which established Landlrods must provided their name and address (or s.48 an address in England or Wales if not e.g. UK resident for serving notices) with any rent demand - still required today.  
  • Housing Repairs and Rents Act 1954 - Allows business tenants to renew tenancies at market rent.  S.24 provides: a business tenant's lease may continue until terminated in accordance with this act.
  • Warren v Keen 1954 -
    • "to use the premises in a tenant-like manner"...
    • The tenant must repair damage to the premises caused, wilfully or negligently, by him, his family and his guests."
  • Rent Act 1965 - regulated tenancies were introduced to UK which included Fair Rents.  These rents were set independently by rent officers and remainied in place until the Rent Act 1988 which reversed the policy for new tenancies from that point (effective 15 Jan 1989).  .
  • (Torts ) Interference with goods Act 1977 (see possessions)
  • Protection from Eviction Act 1977 -
  • Protection from Harassment Act 1977 Acts likely to interfere with the peace and comfort of residents living in a property or persistent withdrawal of services reasonably required to occupy property.
  • (see also) Protection from Harassment Act 1997 - includes stalking and conduct reasonably likely to cause fear.
  • Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
  • Section 7 Interpretation Act 1978: where an Act authorises or requires any document to be served by post, service is deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting a letter containing the document.  See also Sec. 196 LPA 1925
  • Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 -
    • S.8-11 landlord duty to repair
    • Secure Tenancies (mainly LAs), see also synonyms: Protected tenancy  sitting tenant, assured tenancy,
    • s.8 Grounds 1-16 for eviction (see g.17 1995 Act)
    • Housing Act 1985 - Secure Periodic Tenancies: e.g. Council tenants - evicted using Section 83 HA '85 NSP via grounds in schedule 2
  • Housing Act 1987-
  • Limitation Act 1980
  • Town & Country Planning Order 1987, providing for certain changes of property use from Class C3 residential use, to Class C4 HMO use.  See relationship with Article 4 Directions A4D
  • Post Office v Aquarius Properties 1987 -
    •  Flooded basement; repair to original condition only.
  • Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 Section 47 and 48 - name and address of the landlord should be included in the tenancy agreement in order to expect rent payment via a court
  • Housing Act 1988 -
    • Step towards deregulation to free up over regulated housing market (esp. since RA77)
    • Assured Short Hold Tenancies  - ASTs (less security)
    • s.20 Notices HA 1988 Notices prior to issuing a tenancy ended by HA1996
    • s.21 HA 1988 Notices - required to enforce ending a tenancy at expiration;
    • Fixed Term s.21b or periodic term s.21a options see forms consolidation deregulation act 2015
    • Market rent as opposed to government controlled rents
    • Recover and enforce only after 6 months
      • Exception
      • Ground 2 HA'88 mortgagee defaults s.101 LPA 25
    • Exceptions: [R.A.S.H.100k) - acronym]
      • Resident Landlords
      • Agricultural Land tenancies
      • Student Letting (only if in Halls of Residence)
      • Holiday Lettings
      • Rent less than £1000 p/a London or elsewhere,
      • Rent  more than £25k p/a now >£100k p/a
    • Grounds for eviction ( see separate notice periods):
    •  1-8 Mandatory Grounds;
      • 1  Owner principle former home returning
      • 2  HA'88 mortgagee default s.101 LPA 25
      • 3 Fixed term < 8 months AND former holiday let
      • 4 Term < 12 months etc.
      • 5 Minister of religion e.g. manse required by church.
      • 6 Renovation works render  property uninhabitable
      • 7 Former tenant of deceased (only available within 12 months of death)
      • 7a anti-social behaviour with a conviction for serious offence
      • 7b Illegal immigrant
      • 8 Rent Arrears - amount in accordance with rent frequency - pw, pm, pq. E.g. A weekly rent period requires 8 weeks notice to evict a tenant,  whereas a monthly rent period requires 2 months notice to evict.  Quarterly rent requires one quarter (13 weeks notice to evict).  Some rent guarantee schemes will not accept quarterly rent  tenants as the amount of arrears is potentially greater and the time to serve notice to evict is longer, exposing the scheme to greater loss making it less viable.
    • 9-17 Discretionary Grounds:
      • 9 Suitable alternative accommodation available
      • 10 Some unpaid rent on date of service
      • 11 Persistent late rent
      • 12 Unperformed obligation or default of tenancy
      • 13 House deterioration under tenancy
      • 14 Nuisance annoyance / immoral illegal conduct
      • 14a Tenant departure unlikely to return. Domestic violence (couple separates) social landlords only
      • 14za Offence during a riot
      • 15 Furniture deterioration
      • 16 Employed tenant no longer employed by landlord employer.
      • 17 Misleading statement inducing tenancy (HA 1996)
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990 This act covers development, enforcement, conservation, listed building consents, Letting and Estate Agents boards.
  • Environmental Protection Act (1990),  or anti-social behaviour legislation discouraging e.g. noise.
  • Periodic Tenancy  Hammersmith Council v Monk 1992 (unilaterally end a periodic joint-tenancy )
    1. Two joint tenants. One of whom provided notice to quit to the Council landlord, but neglected to inform the other joint tenant who remained in the property.  The Council re-possessed the property. The House of Lords (HoL) upheld a series of Court of Appeal (CoA) judgments deciding one party to a joint tenancy can end a periodic joint-tenancy unilaterally, by giving correct notice to quit.  Exceptions include express contractual terms to the contrary.  The Council was granted Possession.
  • Finance Act 1995 - tax affecting overseas landlords
  • Housing Act 1996 - AST now default tenancy effective 28Feb 1997
  • Protection from Harassment Act 1997 - includes stalking and conduct reasonably likely to cause fear.
  • Housing Act 2004 -
    • Deposit protection (from 2007)
    • s.54 Mandatory Licensing large HMOs (from 2007)
    • s.55 Additional Licensing small HMOs discretionary by LAs
    • s80 Selective Licensing small HMOs discretionary by LAs
    • And much more... this is now the most comprehensive property Act.
  • Money Laundering Regulations 2007 - Estate Agents required to report suspected fraudsters
  • Equality Act 2010 - section 15
    • defence to eviction
    • consolidated all previous discrimination acts.
  • Localism Act 2011  -
  • Immigration Act 2014
  • The redress Scheme for letting agency work and property management work (requirement to belong to a scheme etc) (England) order 2014
  • Deregulation Act 2015 - Section 21 notices restricted: EPC, gas safety certificates and How to Rent guide compulsory before issuing s.21 - notices expire after 6 months (s.8 exp. after 12 months).
  • Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Letting Agents must display their fees.  Must also display which CMP scheme they belong to.
  • Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 - 
  • The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 testing obligatory at start of tenacy
  • Housing and Planning Act 2016 - Rogue landlords, banning orders, rent repayment orders, recovering abandoned premises, secure tenancies, etc.
  • Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 - minimum standards tenancies under 7 years effective 20 March 2019.  The aim: to impove private and social rental sector living standards.
  • Tenant Fees Act 2019 - prohibitions of most agent landlord fees
  • Client Money Protection Schemes for Property Agents (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc.) Regulations 2019 - All agents are required to provide CMP via one of tte folowing schemes:
    • Client Money Protect
    • Money Shield
    • Propertymark
    • RICS
    • Safeagent
    • UKALA
    • Leydon Lettings is a member of Propertymark and Safeagent and a voluntary member years before this was compulsory.
  • Corona virus Act 2020 - prohibition and restrictions on letting agents and mortgage lenders.
  • Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020)  -
    • Prevents landlords or creditors immediately enforcing a debt against tenants unable to pay.  Two types of breathing space:
      • Debtor (non mental heath issues) limited moratorium - maximum one moratorium per year.
      • Mental health treatment recipient (evinced by a approved medical health professional - AMHP certificate)- whilst treatment continues plus 30 days - unlimited moratorium with continuity orders every 20 to 30 days.
      • Qualifying debts include interalia:
        • mortgage and rent arrears
      • In effect:- Landlords & letting agents must stop any debt recovery proceedings immediately when advised, for the duration of the duration of the set period of the moratorium.
        • this does include s.8 Housing Act 1988 notices related to rent arrears or debt, ie. grounds 8, 10 & 11 only)
        • this does include rent arrears via Suspended Possession orders
        • this does not include section 21 Housing Act 1988 which use remains permissible (as it is not related to debt or rent arrears)
        • .Joint debtors cannor be pursued whilst a moratorium applied to e.g. a joint tenant
        • ignoring such moratorium is harrasseemnt.
        • Any debt is not extinguished, merely unenforceable, during any moratorium.
      • Landlord creditors are permitted to challenge (in writing, within 20 days, evincing any grounds) moratoriums e.g if the tenant can afford to pay / the debt; is not subject to a qualifying debt or they have mislead the assessor
      • Fire Safety Act 2021 - 
  • Minister v Hathaway 2021 Exceptionally - Tenancies commenced before the Deregulation Act was enacted, do not require landlords to have issued tenants with an EPC, gas safety certificates and How to Rent guide etc prior to issuing the section 21 Notice to quit - according to the appeal case of  Minister v Hathaway 2021 as their tenancy was granted before the 1 October 2015 Deregulation Act was enacted.
  • Fire Safety Act 2021 - (see also Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005).  FSA'21 addresses issues raised by the Grenfell tower block disaster.  Fire risk assessements are required by 'The Responsible Person' (owner of appointee) where there are two or more separate domestic dwellings within the same building and updated following any alterations or increased risks.  It is important to consider.any flamable external cladding, as well as communal fire doors and door furniture.  Appointing a qualified assessor is the safest way to evince due diligence.  Establishing escape routes and making these available to tenants is required by Mandatory Licensing. The Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (available on government website) helps the responsible person to identify fire risks with a numerical risk score:
    • 'Tier 1 to Tier 5 with 1 being high and 5 being low priority.  This is a questionaire highlighting risks
  • Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020  - applicable 1 July 2020.  Penalty up to £30,000 for failure to provide.  All fixed electric cables and equipment must be tested (at least every 5 years) by a qualified person in accordance with 18th edition wiring regs.  EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) will suffice - new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and any existing tenancy from 1 April 2021.  A landlord must provide:
    • copy of certificatewithin 28 days of inspection and test
    • copy of most recent report to any tenant prior to occupation
    • copy to prospective tenant
    • copy to the person conducting the next report
    • copy to LA within 7 days of request.
  • Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 - permitting leases to be extended to 990 years and abolishing mariage value and limitng ground rents - the unexpected early election announcement meant that some aspects of this Act remain unimplemented..
  • Finance Bill 2024 - Pension implications - lifetime allowance likely to be reversed by a Labour Government if elected.
  • Renters Reform Bill  - Part of the 'Levelling Up' ethos this proposes abolition of:
    • Section 21 HA '88 "no fault" evictions.  A valid reason must be provided for evicting and must be within the parameters provided by the legislation.
    • Ban on some advertising e.g.: NO Pets, No DSS.  Landlords must consider, and if reasonable, grant such requests.  Tenants must rightly be selected on their suitability - not based on bias perceived status.
    • Fixed Term Tenancies - although there was support for a minimum 6 month tenancy.  this does not help private sector landlords housing students for an academic year of 12 months.  Under the proposals, purpose-built-student accommodation providers will nevertheless be permitted to grant '12 months tenancies' creating unfair competition. Tenants in the private sector are more likely to terminate tenancies prematurely ahead of their academic year endng.  Tenants are only required to provide their landlords with 2 months notice, for a variety of reasons: falling out with housemates, ending course early, e.g. at Easter when all scheduled student lectures and seminars end some students might prefer to head home leaving their accommodation prematurely, thereby avoiding paying any anticipated final months rent after 6 moonths has expired.  In Scotland, where the policies of the RRB has been in place for some time, university cities like: Stirling, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh have seen landlords exiting the student market (perceived as no longer viable for the reason expounded above).  In Scotland the unintended consequnce has resulted in students struggling to find affordable accommodation as those landlords who remain charge higher rents to reflect both the market demand and the reduced rental periods available to cover their anual mortgage interest.  Some argue, why not let to students from September to March and then to say families for the remaing months?  Sounds obvious, until considering the implications.  E.g. Article 4 areas dictate that any change of use is ireversible from Class C4 to Class C3.  So landlrods who let to substitute Class C3 tenants find they are no longer permitted to relet to students in Class C4 without planning permission, which would likely be denied.
    • Landlord register - all landlords must be listed in a new register of landlords.
    • Landlord redress scheme  - all landlords must be a member of an address scheme.
    • The bill went as far as the House of Lords before being abandoned when the Conservative Government announced an early election on 7 July 2024. 
    • Under alternative governments the effects of this bill when ultimately passed (as there is cross party support for it) will likely be less favourable to landlords than under the current proposals at the time of writing in June 2024.
    • TBC as the 2024 election looms...

See also

Published: 5 November 2013 Last Updated: 28 March 2024

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