Landlord was entitled to give tenant only two months’ notice

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a landlord was within his rights to end a tenancy agreement without giving his tenant the six-month notice period required under the Housing Act 1988.

The tenant, Sarah Bamber, had agreed a seven-year tenancy on the property, which included a 12-month starter period.

During this starter period, the agreement stated that the tenancy could be ended by the landlord by giving just two months’ notice. The landlord triggered this option and was granted a possession order, which has been upheld by the Appeal Court. It said that because the agreement was being ended within the 12-month starter-period, it was lawful to give only two months’ notice.

Although only giving two months was in direct conflict to the requirements set out in the Housing Act, to not apply the provision laid out in the tenancy agreement would make the agreement inoperable.

Please contact Jonathan Carr or Holly Baker if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of commercial property law.