Schedule 15 · Rent Act 1977

Contents

Schedule 15 · Grounds for Possession of Dwelling-Houses Let on or Subject to Protected or Statutory Tenancies

Part I · Cases in Which Court May Order Possession

Part II · Cases in Which Court Must Order Possession Where Dwelling-House Subject to Regulated Tenancy

Part III · Provisions Applicable to Case 9 and Part II of This Schedule

(1)A court shall not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house by reason only that the circumstances of the case fall within Case 9 in Part I of this Schedule if the court is satisfied that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including the question whether other accommodation is available for the landlord or the tenant, greater hardship would be caused by granting the order than by refusing to grant it.

Provision for Part II

(2)Any reference in Part II of this Schedule to the relevant date shall be construed as follows:—

(a)except in a case falling within paragraph (b) or (c) below, if the protected tenancy, or, in the case of a statutory tenancy, the previous contractual tenancy, was created before 8th December 1965, the relevant date means 7th June 1966; and

(b)except in a case falling within paragraph (c) below, if the tenancy became a regulated tenancy by virtue of section 14 of the ^noteCounter-Inflation Act 1973 and the tenancy or, in the case of a statutory tenancy, the previous contractual tenancy, was created before 22nd March 1973, the relevant date means 22nd September 1973; and

(c)in the case of a regulated furnished tenancy, if the tenancy or, in the case of a statutory furnished tenancy, the previous contractual tenancy was created before 14th August 1974, the relevant date means 13th February 1975; and

(d)in any other case, the relevant date means the date of the commencement of the regulated tenancy in question.

Part IV · Suitable Alternative Accommodation

(3)For the purposes of section 98(1)(a) of this Act, a certificate of the local housing authority for the district in which the dwelling-house in question is situated, certifying that the authority will provide suitable alternative accommodation for the tenant by a date specified in the certificate, shall be conclusive evidence that suitable alternative accommodation will be available for him by that date.

(4)

(1)Where no such certificate as is mentioned in paragraph 3 above is produced to the court, accommodation shall be deemed to be suitable for the purposes of section 98(1)(a) of this Act if it consists of either—

(a)premises which are to be let as a separate dwelling such that they will then be let on a protected tenancy other than one under which the landlord might recover possession of the dwelling-house under one of the cases in Part II of this Schedule), or

(b)premises to be let as a separate dwelling on terms which will, in the opinion of the court, afford to the tenant security of tenure reasonably equivalent to the security afforded by Part VII of this Act in the case of a protected tenancy, or a kind mentioned in paragraph (a) above,

and, in the opinion of the court, the accommodation fulfils the relevant conditions as defined in paragraph 5 below.

(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)

(1)For the purposes of paragraph 4 above, the relevant conditions are that the accommodation is reasonably suitable to the needs of the tenant and his family as regards proximity to place of work, and either—

(a)similar as regards rental and extent to the accommodation afforded by dwelling-houses provided in the neighbourhood by any local housing authority for persons whose needs as regards extent are, in the opinion of the court, similar to those of the tenant and of his family; or

(b)reasonably suitable to the means of the tenant and to the needs of the tenant and his family as regards extent and character; and

that if any furniture was provided for use under the protected or statutory tenancy in question, furniture is provided for use in the accommodation which is either similar to that so provided or is reasonably suitable to the needs of the tenant and his family.

(2)For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a) above, a certificate of a local housing authority stating—

(a)the extent of the accommodation afforded by dwelling-houses provided by the authority to meet the needs of tenants with families of such number as may be specified in the certificate, and

(b)the amount of the rent charged by the authority for dwelling-houses affording accommodation of that extent,

shall be conclusive evidence of the facts so stated.

(6)Accommodation shall not be deemed to be suitable to the needs of the tenant and his family if the result of their occupation of the accommodation would be that it would be an overcrowded dwelling-house for the purposes of the Part X of the Housing Act 1985.

(7)Any document purporting to be a certificate of a local housing authority named therein issued for the purposes of this Schedule and to be signed by the proper officer of that authority shall be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is shown, shall be deemed to be such a certificate without further proof.

(8) In this Part “ local housing authority ” and “ district ” in relation to such an authority have the same meaning as in the Housing Act 1985.

Part V · Provisions applying to Cases 11, 12 and 20

(1)In this Part of this Schedule—

(2)The conditions referred to in Paragraph (c) in each of Cases 11 and 12 and in paragraph (e)(ii) of Case 20 are that—

(a)the dwelling-house is required as a residence for the owner or any member of his family who resided with the owner when he last occupied the dwelling-house as a residence;

(b)the owner has retired from regular employment and requires the dwelling-house as a residence;

(c)the owner has died and the dwelling-house is required as a residence for a member of his family who was residing with him at the time of his death;

(d)the owner has died and the dwelling-house is required by a successor in title as his residence or for the purpose of disposing of it with vacant possession;

(e)the dwelling-house is subject to a mortgage, made by deed and granted before the tenancy, and the mortgagee—

(i)is entitled to exercise a power of sale conferred on him by the mortgage or by section 101 of the Law of Property Act 1925; and

(ii)requires the dwelling-house for he purpose of disposing of it with vacant possession in exercise of that power; and

(f)the dwelling-house is not reasonably suitable to the needs of the owner, having regard to his place of work, and he requires it for the purpose of disposing of it with vacant possession and of using the proceeds of that disposal in acquiring, as his residence, a dwelling-house which is more suitable to those needs.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Defined terms · 64

Show every defined term

agricultural holding
means any agricultural holding within the meaning of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 held under a tenancy in relation to which that Act applies, and • “farm business tenancy”, and “holding” in relation to such a tenancy, have the same meaning as in the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995.
agricultural land
has the meaning set out in section 26(3)(a) of the General Rate Act 1967 (exclusion of agricultural land and premises from liability for rating).
appropriate tribunal
means— (a) in relation to a dwelling in England, the First-tier Tribunal or, where determined by or under Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal;
billing authority
has the same meaning as in that Part of that Act, and
category of dwellings
has the same meaning as in section 30(1) and (2) of that Act.
contractual period
means a rental period of a regulated tenancy which is a period beginning before the expiry or termination of the protected tenancy;
contractual rent limit
has the meaning assigned to it by section 44(3) of this Act;
converted tenancy
means a tenancy which has become a regulated tenancy by virtue of any of the enactments mentioned in section 18A of this Act. • “the conversion” means the time when the tenancy became a regulated tenancy.
Crown interest
means an interest which belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or of the Duchy of Lancaster or to the Duchy of Cornwall, or to a government department, or which is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department.
dwelling
means a house or part of a house;
English new towns residuary body
means the Homes and Communities Agency so far as exercising functions in relation to anything transferred (or to be transferred) to it as mentioned in section 52(1)(a) to (d) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 or the Greater London Authority so far as exercising its new towns and urban development functions.
flat
means a dwelling-house which—
furniture
includes fittings and other articles;
grant
includes continuance and renewal.
hereditament
means a dwelling within the meaning of Part I of the Local Government Finance Act 1992,
housing association
has the same meaning as in the Housing Associations Act 1985
housing association tenancy
means a tenancy to which this Part of this Act applies.
housing authority
means a local housing authority within the meaning of the Housing Act 1985.
housing trust
means a corporation or body of persons which—
improvement
includes structural alteration, extension or addition and the provision of additional fixtures or fittings, but does not include anything done by way of decoration or repair;
landlord
includes any person from time to time deriving title under the original landlord and also includes, in relation to any dwelling-house, any person other than the tenant who is, or but for Part VII of this Act would be, entitled to possession of the dwelling-house;
legal mortgage
includes a charge by way of legal mortgage.
lessee
means the person to whom is granted, under a restricted contract, the right to occupy the dwelling in question as a residence and any person directly or indirectly deriving title from the grantee;
lessor
means the person who, under a restricted contract, grants to another the right to occupy the dwelling in question as a residence and any person directly or indirectly deriving title from the grantor;
let
includes “sublet”;
living accommodation
means accommodation of such a nature that the fact that it constitutes or is included in the shared accommodation is (or, if the tenancy has ended, was) sufficient, apart from this section, to prevent the tenancy from constituting a protected tenancy of a dwelling-house.
local authority
means the council of a district (or, in a county in England in which there are no districts having a district council, the council of the county) or the council of a London borough or the Common Council of the City of London or, in Wales, the council of a county or county borough.
long tenancy
means a tenancy granted for a term of years certain exceeding 21 years, whether or not subsequently extended by act of the parties or by any enactment;
notice to end the contract
means a notice under section 163 or 168 of that Act.
premium
has the same meaning as in Part IX of this Act, and “sum in the nature of a premium” means—
prescribed
means prescribed by regulations under section 74 of this Act, and references to a prescribed form include references to a form substantially to the same effect as the prescribed form.
protected tenancy
includes a protected occupancy under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976;
rates
includes water rates and charges but does not include an owner’s drainage rate as defined in section 63(2)(a) of the Land Drainage Act 1976;
recoverable rent
means rent which, under a regulated tenancy, is or was for the time being recoverable, having regard to the provisions of this Part of this Act;
register
means the register kept... in pursuance of section 79 or 79A of this Act;
rent agreement
means—
rent agreement with a tenant having security of tenure
has the meaning assigned to it by section 51 of this Act;
rent tribunal
has the meaning given by section 76(1) of this Act;
rental period
means a period in respect of which a payment of rent falls to be made;
secure contract
has the same meaning as in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 1) (see section 8 of that Act);
services
includes attendance, the provision of heating or lighting, the supply of hot water and any other privilege or facility connected with the occupancy of a dwelling, other than a privilege or facility requisite for the purposes of access, cold water supply or sanitary accommodation.
specified
means specified, or of a class specified, for the purposes of this section by regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument.
statutorily protected tenancy
means—
statutory period
means any rental period of a regulated tenancy which is not a contractual period.
statutory tenancy
includes a statutory tenancy under that Act.
succession
means the occasion on which a person becomes the statutory tenant of a dwelling-house by virtue of this Part of this Schedule and “successor” shall be construed accordingly.
sum in the nature of a premium
means—
tenancy
includes “sub-tenancy”;
tenancy at a low rent
has the meaning assigned to it by section 5 of this Act.
tenant
includes statutory tenant and also includes a sub-tenant and any person deriving title under the original tenant or sub-tenant;
the 1972 Act
means the Housing Finance Act 1972 and “the 1974 Act” means the Housing Act 1974.
the 1974 Act
means the Housing Act 1974.
the Act of 1920
means the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act 1920;
the appropriate day
has the meaning assigned to it by section 25(3) of this Act;
the constituent authorities
means the local authorities whose areas make up the amalgamated area.
the conversion
means the time when the tenancy became a regulated tenancy.
the dwelling
means the aggregate of the premises comprised in the statutory tenancy of the outgoing tenant.
the limit
means the limit in paragraph 2 above.
the local housing authority
has the same meaning as in the Housing Act 1985.
the operative date
means the date on which Part I of the Housing Act 1988 came into force.
the previous terms
means the terms of the tenancy (to which paragraph 1 above applies) as at 22nd March 1973, and “the limit” means the limit in paragraph 2 above.
the relelvant tenancy
means—
the Rent Acts
means the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restrictions Acts 1920 to 1939.
the rent officer
means–

Rent Act 1977

Schedule 15 · Grounds for Possession of Dwelling-Houses Let on or Subject to Protected or Statutory Tenancies

Part I · Cases in Which Court May Order Possession

Case 1

Case 2

Case 3

Case 4

Case 5

Case 6

Case 7

Case 8

Case 9

Case 10

Case 10A

Part II · Cases in Which Court Must Order Possession Where Dwelling-House Subject to Regulated Tenancy

Case 11

Case 12

Case 13

Case 14

Case 15

Case 16

Case 17

Case 18

Case 19

Case 20

Part III · Provisions Applicable to Case 9 and Part II of This Schedule

Provision for Case 9

Provision for Part II

Part IV · Suitable Alternative Accommodation

Part V · Provisions applying to Cases 11, 12 and 20