SECURITY OF TENURE
Governed by Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
Landlord

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

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Tenant
Determine the contractual end date of the lease.
Is the tenancy protected under s.23 L&TA 1954? [use flowchart]
Lease or licence?
 Street v Mountford [1985]: A lease must grant exclusive possession of the property for a fixed or periodic term at a rent.
 Look at the effect of the written agreement, not its label.
In occupation
 Occupation can be by the tenant personally, or through the medium of an agent or manager, or by a company owned by the tenant.
 This can be partial occupation.
Business use
 Business' is widely defined and includes 'a trade, profession or employment and in the case of a 'body of persons' any activity carried on by them.
 'Any activity' means just that; it need not be a business or commercial activity.
Term of tenancy
 The tenancy be for a fixed term of 6 months or more.
 OR the tenant must in occupation for 12 months or more if in periodic tenancies of under 6 months.
Excluded tenancies
 Fixed term tenancies not exceeding 6 months
 Service tenancies
 Tenancies at will
 Tenancies of agriculture holding
 Mining leases
Contracting out
 Check in lease for reference to the serving of the required s.38A Notice
 If no reference, then not contracted out of L&TA 1954, Part II
Effect of L&TA 1954:
Lease will not expire at end of contractual term - the tenancy holds over indefinitely.
The tenancy can only be ended in one the ways specified in the Act.

*

Purpose:
 Renegotiate lease
 Stop T obtaining new lease

Purpose:
 T seeking new Lease
 T serves on L to trigger process
 Fixed term must be 1 year or more

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