Housing Advice aims to promote awareness of tenants housing rights and to assist tenants in asserting those rights. Your rights as a tenant will vary depending on the type of accommodation you have, and the agreement you have made with a landlord.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the landlord does not end the tenancy?
Can the terms of my tenancy agreement be challenged?
Will the Council be able to help tenants if they are asked to leave?
How do you end a tenancy?
If either the tenant or the landlord wants to end the tenancy, there are certain procedures that must be followed depending on the type of tenancy. The following covers general rules with respect to different tenancies. However, all individual leases will have clauses specific to that contract. You should consider obtaining independent legal advice if you are concerned.
Assured shorthold tenancy
Landlords have a right to regain possession without giving any reasons at any time after the fixed term has come to an end, or at any time during a statutory periodic tenancy, as long as it is at least six months since the start of the original tenancy. Landlords must give the tenant at least two months’ notice that they want the property back. Tenants can leave at the end of the fixed term, without giving notice. Landlords can give notice during the fixed term but the tenancy cannot end before the fixed term is up. Notice must be in writing but you do not have to use a special form.
The court must see notices for assured shorthold tenancies so it is very important the landlord serve the notice correctly.
If tenants refuse to leave, landlords cannot evict him or her without a possession order from the court. Applications to the court can be made as soon as the notice period asking for possession ends.
At the end of the fixed term
When a shorthold tenancy comes to the end of the fixed term, the landlord can end the tenancy but must have given 2 months’ notice that they require possession. This period must end on the last day of the tenancy period. The tenant can give one months’ notice.
If the landlord agrees a replacement tenancy, it will automatically be on shorthold terms unless he or she agrees to set up a replacement tenancy on an assured basis
If the landlord agrees a replacement tenancy, it can either be for a fixed term or run on a periodic basis – called a contractual periodic tenancy
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What if the landlord does not end the tenancy?
If the landlord does nothing at the end of your fixed term, the tenancy will automatically run on from one rent period to the next on the same terms as the preceding fixed term shorthold tenancy – called a statutory periodic tenancy. The tenancy will continue to run on this basis until you leave, the landlord replaces the tenancy, or the landlord requires possession of the property
Accelerated possession
This is a cheap and straightforward way for landlords to get possession of their property without a court hearing. The court makes its decision by looking at documents, which the landlord and the tenant provide, unless it considers that a hearing is needed. This procedure can only be used if you have a written tenancy agreement and the tenant has been given notice.
If the tenant does not leave the property on the date given in the court order, landlords must apply for a warrant for eviction from the court. The court will arrange for bailiffs to evict the tenant.
Eviction during the fixed term
Landlords can only seek possession during a fixed term of the tenancy if one of the grounds (reasons) for possession apply (as set out in the schedules of the Housing Act 1988 and amended by the Housing Act 1996) and the terms of the tenancy say that it can be ended on these grounds. The court must decide whether one or more of these grounds apply. The notice served must be in a form that is given in the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (forms) Regulations 1997.
If a tenant wants to leave during the fixed term, they are normally liable for the rent. However, if taking the tenant to court for outstanding rent, the landlord would have to prove that their best attempts were made to recoup the lost rent by re-letting the property.
Assured tenancies
If landlords want to regain possession from an assured tenant, they must serve a notice in the form that is given in the regulations for assured tenancies as above. The notice must give the grounds that they will rely on. Grounds fall into two categories – discretionary and mandatory. The full text of the ground must be given, along with details of the ground. The notice period is between two weeks and two months.
Landlords cannot usually apply to the county court before the notice ends. However, there are exceptions to this rule and the court has the power to ignore the notice requirement in rare instances.
The law relating to eviction can be complicated. You should contact a solicitor to get your own legal advice or the Tenancy Relation’s Officer.
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Can the terms of my tenancy agreement be challenged?
Tenants may appeal against clauses in their contract that they believe to be unfair. If a Tenant feels that the Landlord is being unreasonable, the Office Of Fair Trading can help rule whether a given clause in the contract is unfair. If the clause is ruled unfair, then it becomes void, and the Tenant is not bound to it. For more information see (link to OFT.gov.uk)
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Will the council be able to help tenants if they are asked to leave?
The council, by law, must help homeless households if they have a connection to the borough, are in priority need and have not made themselves homeless on purpose. Usually, the council will not accept people as homeless from private rented accommodation unless the tenant can show that they can no longer stay in the property. This means that the council will not help tenants until the courts have ordered them to leave.
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Contact details:
Housing Advice Unit
Private Sector Housing Unit
London Borough of Hounslow
Civic Centre
Lampton Road
Hounslow
TW3 4DN
Tel: 0208 583 3844
Fax: 0208 583 3990
Other useful information
Landlord Services - Introduction to letting
Deposits
Tenant Services - During a Tenancy
Landlord Services - During a tenancy
Landlord Services - Ending a tenancy
Tenancies
Grants
Health and Safety in Rented Property
Harassment and Illegal Eviction
Homelessness
Landlord Events
Landlord Newsletter
Types of Tenancy