A second opportunity to delve into the basics of Landlord and Tenant law has arrived. This time I am looking at Notices to Quit and the common pitfalls that are easily made but fatal to the effectiveness of the Notice.
It is important first of all to nip in the bud a common misconception when it comes to Notices to quit. They and Section 21 notices are NOT one of the same thing. They indeed are used in completely different situations. Granted, the way they are applied can be seen as similar, however they should not be confused as it would result in a notice as useful as a chocolate teapot.
A notice to quit is a tool to be used to bring about the end of a common law/company let tenancy. Section 21 notices are used to end an assured shorthold tenancy. So if the tenancy agreement that is in place is an AST serve a Section 21 not a Notice to Quit.
A point of law that makes numerous Notices invalid is when the date of expiry should be and when it should or can be used. The date of expiry must be either at the end of a complete period of the tenancy or on the first day of the new period. If this is a little too vague, there is an alternative method. The case of Chez Auguste Ltd v Cottat stated that there was no need to give an exact date on the notice. This may appear harsh on the tenant but there was a caveat to this declaration. It just needs to be clearly identifiable to a reasonable tenant as to when the Notice will expire. As well as this, it cannot be used in the fixed term unless it is used in conjunction with a break clause.
There are certain other points that must be followed when the Notice has been served. Once the Notice has been served, rent cannot be demanded. Payment of mesne profits (equal to the rental sum) must be taken instead without prejudice to the effect of the notice to quit. It must be made clear to everyone who looks at the transactions that there is no intention to create a new tenancy found. Street v Mountford tells us that if there is no intention to create legal relations then no tenancy is created. This is particularly important because the last thing you want as a Landlord or Agent is to get to the point where the Notice to Quit has expired and possession is close, only to find that the tenancy will continue due to a few seemingly innocent statements.
These requirements must be strictly applied otherwise the notice will generally be found to be invalid. It may seem like a lot of effort but caution is the best approach. Make sure as many checks as possible take place and that will ensure that time is not wasted, particularly in a situation like possession matters where time is generally of the essence.
A number of you may well be signed up to our helpline. If you indeed are and wish to access a Notice to Quit, then it is available via the document vault which you have access to.
It is worth noting that if it is a common law tenancy and your sole ambition is to gain possession at the end the of the fixed term, a letter stating you require possession will suffice. A letter will also suffice if the tenancy has a break clause, again no Notice to Quit is required to exercise the right. A Notice to Quit is only required once the tenancy has become periodic.
Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, comment, Housing Act 1988, legislation, possession
27 October, 2011 • 17:19 2
Right to Manage: Make sure you get the process right!
September saw 2 interesting decisions made by the Upper Chamber (Lands Tribunal) concerning Right to Manage (RTM) applications.
In the first case re 15 Yonge Park a claim notice under section 80 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 was served by the RTM company set up for the purpose of exercising the right to manage. Sadly on the Notice the wrong address was given for the Company in that it did not give the Registered Office address of the RTM Company but some other address. At first instance the LVT appears to have accepted that there was an error but that this was not fatal. Unfortunately the Upper Tribunal disagreed.
On appeal it was determined that the requirements set out in Section 80 of the 2002 Act are mandatory. The registered office should have been set out. If there had been some sort of minor error in this address such as a typo this could have been corrected under Section 81 of the 2002 Act but as complete failure to provide the registered office address (although some other address was provided) meant that the Notice as served was defective and invalid. Back to the drawing board for this RTM and almost inevitably a sizeable bill of costs.
The second case was re 6-10 Montrose Gardens. Reading between the lines of this decision it would appear that this was a hard fought RTM with this appeal not relating to the first notice served but the third! One can only guess why earlier notices had been withdrawn or deemed withdrawn.
On this occasion Notice was served which was disputed by the Landlord. The Landlord objected on the basis that an Invitation to Participate had not been given to those Qualifying Tenants who were not members of the RTM Company. Subsequently a couple of days before the 2 month time limit for applying to the LVT expired an application was faxed to the LVT but without any of the supporting documentation which was not received until after the 2 month period had expired.
The questions for the appeal were whether the application had been made properly and if so was the Landlord’s ground for refusal correct.
To deal with the second point it appears to have been agreed that no invitation to participate was served prior to the service of this notice but an invitation had been served prior to an earlier invalid notice. The terms in effect of this notice were the same as those following the Invitation to Participate. Also those persons who were originally served with the Invitation Notice had remained the same. The Tribunal found that there was no need to serve a further Invitation Notice simply because other RTM Notices had been withdrawn or deemed withdrawn. Care should be taken particuarly to make sure that those who should be served the invitation Notice have not changed and good practice must say that it would be better (and safer!) to reserve the Invitation Notice to prevent any argument on this point.
With regards to the application to the LVT the Upper Tribunal was not so generous. Whilst the Upper Tribunal accepted that the LVT may have a discretion they must have received sufficient documents to allow them to deal with the claim and here they had only received an application form. As a result the Upper Tribunal determined that the right of discretion had not even arisen. As a result the application was said to be out of time and there was therefore a deemed withdrawal. It appears therefore they are now on to RTM Notice number 4!
In practice these cases provide a clear lesson that you must make sure you comply with the procedure as set out in the Act fully and you are unlikely to be able to correct mistakes. Further evidence of the need to take care in respect of all Notices but particularly leasehold reform matters as the decisions are clear that strict adherence to the statutory process is required.
Consider yourselves warned!
Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, comment, legislation, long lease