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Tessa’s Ten Top Tips on Ending Tenancies (England)

  1. There is a difference between ending a tenancy and recovering possession.  Note that in most cases, if a tenancy ends (for example, if a tenant gives a Notice to Quit) – if the tenant does not then move out and remains in occupation, you will have to evict them through the courts.  
  2. A tenancy does not end when the tenant dies.  In most cases, it will be treated in the same way as a freehold or long lease property and will pass to beneficiaries under the tenant’s will or intestacy.  In some cases (in particular for protected tenants under the Rent Act 1977 or assured tenants under the Housing Act 1988), the tenancy will pass to the tenant’s spouse or family members as set out in the legislation.  
  3. Most tenancies in England will now be Assured Periodic Tenancies.  The rules regarding tenants notices to quit have been amended to require the notice period to be not less than two months. 
  4. If the tenants move out (without having given notice first) and it is clear that they have vacated permanently, this can be treated as an ‘implied offer to surrender’ which the landlord can ‘accept’ by going in and changing the locks.  It will normally be safe to do this if the tenants have removed all their possessions, stopped paying rent and left the keys behind.
  5. Once a tenancy has ended under a tenant’s Notice to Quit, if the landlord wants them to go, he must be careful how he accepts payments.  If these are accepted ‘as rent’, then this will create a new tenancy.
  6. Be aware that section 8 notices do not actually ‘end’ a tenancy.  What they do is make it possible for the landlord to obtain a court order for possession if the tenants fail to vacate.
  7. In most cases, a landlord can only recover possession of a property if a tenant moves out voluntarily or by a Court Bailiff or High Court Enforcement Officer (formerly known as Sheriffs) under the authority of a Court Order for Possession.  
  8. However under the Right to Rent rules, the Home Office can in certain circumstances, issue a notice which will allow a landlord to instruct High Court Enforcement Officers to physically evict tenants without the need for a Court Order.
  9. Tenants (although not landlords) can end any periodic tenancy by serving a tenant’s Notice to Quit.  This will end the tenancy for all parties, even if some of the tenants were unaware that the notice was being served.
  10. Under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 it is a criminal offence (and also a civil wrong entitling tenants to claim financial compensation in the Courts) if landlords evict tenants without getting a court order first, save in a few specific circumstances.  These include lodgers who share living accommodation with their landlords and genuine holiday lets.

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