Landlord Law Services

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The tenancy trail

Answer

This tenancy is most likely governed by the statutory code set out in The Rent Act 1977.

Note: – Tenancies under the Rent Act can be protected tenancies, or statutory tenancies (both sometimes referred to as ‘regulated tenancies’), although on Landlord Law we generally refer to them all collectively as ‘Rent Act Tenancies’ or sometimes ‘protected tenancies’.

The Rent Act 1977 was the main statutory code that applied to all tenancies which came into being before 15 January 1989.  As time goes by there are fewer and fewer of these, however, there are still quite a few around.

Under the Rent Act, 1977 tenants had special rights, which tenants who have a Rent Act tenancy still enjoy.  These are:

  • The right to apply for a ‘fair rent’ – after which the only rent which can be charged is that set by a Valuation Office Agency Rent Officer.
  • Considerably greater security of tenure which makes it difficult (and in many cases, impossible) to evict them through the courts, and
  • Succession rights, which allow the spouse of the original tenant to succeed to a second Rent Act tenancy.

Landlord Law members can find out more about Rent Act tenancies in  this article.

If you are buying a property (maybe at auction) which seems to have a very low price, check to make sure it does not have any Rent Act tenants before buying.  This is often the reason why properties are priced unusually low.

There is one further point to consider – so click the next button.

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