Legal Frame Work of Tenancies

It is important that you understand the basic legal framework and various types of lettings that exist. This is because these differences have important ramifications and implications for the rights of landlords & tenants.

Housing and the rights of tenants have always been important political issues and there has been a series of Housing Acts of Parliament on housing matters over the years. This makes the whole subject legally rather complex.

A landlord’s or tenant’s rights will, to a large extent, depend upon the Act of Parliament which regulates the tenancy, which in turn depends upon the date when the tenancy originally started. As this information is based on someone setting up a new business then we will primarily consider the legal situation for a new tenancy (as opposed to a new agreement for an existing tenancy) created after January 2000. However, most of the general points discussed will still be relevant for older tenancies and landlords with existing tenants.