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RENT ACT 1977 - TENANCIES GRANTED BEFORE I5 JANUARY 1989

Most private tenancies granted before 15 January 1989 fall within the protection of the Rent Act 1977.A residential tenancy granted on or after 15 January 1989 is subject to the Housing Act 1988, Pt I, and will be either an assured or an assured shorthold tenancy. The Act applies first and foremost to what is known as ' the protected tenancy '. The tenancy may be periodic or fixed - term, it may be legal or equitable and it may be granted by the freeholder or be a sub-tenancy.To qualify as a protected tenancy, the premises must comprise a dwelling-house and the purpose of the letting must be full residential use as one dwelling. The tenancy may be of part of a house, being a part let as a separate dwelling.

1	There must be a tenancy and not a licence;
2	The tenancy must be of a dwelling-house. This includes houses, flats, and bed sitting-rooms.
3	The dwelling-house must be let as a separate dwelling. The property in question does not have to be self-contained.
	However, it does depend on whether or not you are sharing the accommodation such as the lounge, kitchen, bathroom or a toilet but it does not automatically disqualify the tenancy from protection . If you are sharing with the landlord, the tenant will have limited protection in the form of a restricted contract. If you are sharing with other occupiers, the tenant will have full protection.

The protected tenancy is a contract between the landlord and the tenant and the tenancy will continue until the contract is properly terminated in accordance with the law. This will depend on whether the contract of tenancy was granted for a fixed term or whether it was granted on a periodic basis. If the contract of tenancy was for a fixed term, it will expire automatically at the end of that fixed term.

If it was granted on a periodic basis it must be terminated by notice to quit, given usually by the landlord to the tenant. The length of notice to quit will depend on whether it is a weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly tenancy. However, this does not mean that the tenant has to vacate the property. Once the protected tenancy comes to an end, the tenant is allowed to remain under what is termed a statutory tenancy, which gives the tenant the right to continue in residence.This statutory tenancy can be terminated only by the landlord obtaining a court order on one of the grounds laid down in the Act.

The main difference between the Rent Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1988 is that while the Housing Act 1988 adopted a similar system to the Rent Acts when it came to providing security of tenure, it abandoned completely the system of rent registration .Under this system either the landlord or the tenant can apply to the Rent Officer for a fair rent to be fixed. The amount of the fair rent will be determined by the Rent Officer having regard to the state and condition of the property, its location and the terms of the tenancy.. In each case it is a question of fact whether the premises in question fall within s.1 of the Rent Act 1977 .There are also a number of excluded tenancies which do not qualify for Rent Act protection.

A tenancy is not protected if under the tenancy the dwelling-house is bona fide let at a rent which includes any payments in respect of board or any substantial payments in respect of attendance .Other notable exclusions include holiday lettings. company lettings, and tenancies granted by resident landlords.

The Rent Act 1977 provides security of tenure the landlord can only obtain possession, by proving certain grounds set out in the Act the mandatory and/or discretionary grounds are listed in sc. 15 Be aware that a landlord who claims possession against a protected or statutory tenant must establish:

(a)	the effective termination of the contractual tenancy (e.g., by expiry of time, notice to quit. forfeiture etc.); and
(b)	that one or more of the statutory grounds for possession apply.

Thus, a common law forfeiture of the tenancy will only destroy the protected (contractual) tenancy and the tenant will remain a statutory tenant of the premises ( Wolmer Securities Ltd. v Corne [1966] 2 QB 243). Furthermore, when the original tenant dies, the tenancy will pass automatically to the tenant's surviving spouse or, In certain circumstances, to another member of the family.

After the termination of a protected tenancy, the protected tenant is entitled to be the statutory tenant of the dwelling-house provided he continues to occupy it as his residence (s. 2(1)(a)).

The requirement of continuing residence has been the subject of numerous cases, and of particular interest is the tenant who is a genuine 'two-homes occupant who may claim statutory protection under the Rent Act 1977 despite residing in both properties (see, e.g., Langford Property Co. Ltd. v Tureman [1949] 1 KB 29; contrast Walker V Ogilvy (1974) 28 P & CR. 288). You should remember that a tenant's forced absence from the property While, for example, in prison, or in hospital or on military service, does not necessarily destroy a statutory tenancy ( Tickner v Hearn [1960 ] I WLR 1406).