The Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 has been the cornerstone of the statutory relationship between landlords and tenants for the last 50 years. Although the legislation covers both commercial and residential property, we are only concerned with commercial property in this note.The need for reform was identified in the early 1990s, resulting in the Law Commission report “Business Tenancies: A Periodic Review of the Landlord and Tenant Act Part II” published in 1992. Further consultation exercises took place in 1996 and 2001, resulting in the current changes.
The new regulations are covered by the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003, which was passed by both houses of Parliament in Autumn 2003, and further approved by The National Assembly of Wales on 4 November 2003.
Outline of Changes
There are a large number of changes covered by the new regulations, which can be found at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister website: -
·Landlords can achieve a contracted-out lease by either issuing the tenant with a ‘health warning’, drawing their attention to the rights they are giving up or by getting the tenant to make a statutory declaration in appropriate terms.
·In relation to the renewal of a statutory protected tenancy, if the landlord does not wish to oppose renewal of a lease, they will need to set out their proposals as to rent and other terms for the new tenancy in their Section 25 notice.
·The tenant will no longer need to serve a counter notice.
·Either the landlord or the tenant will now be able to apply to the Court for renewal of the tenancy, with the timing of that application being changed and capable of being extended by the parties.
·The tenant will now be able to apply to the Court for an interim rent.
When do these changes come into Effect?
1 June 2004
Disclaimer
The information in this note is offered as general guidance and should not be considered as specific advice. If you require further information, please ask your Dron & Wright contact.
