Termination of Tenancies for Tenant Default - Law Commission

termination claim, the summary termination procedure may only be commenced
by the appropriate landlord and in response to tenant default. 44
7.69 The summary termination procedure can be summarised as follows:
(1) The summary termination procedure is commenced by the landlord
serving a notice on the tenant. A summary termination notice may only
be served in response to a tenant default and within six months of the
landlord having knowledge of that default. The notice must also be
served on those holding qualifying interests in the tenancy.
(2) The summary termination notice must be in prescribed form. The
landlord must particularise the tenant default complained of and specify
the date on which the tenancy will come to an end. This date will be one
month after service of the notice.
(3) During this one-month period, the tenant (or any qualifying interest
holder) may apply to the court for an order discharging the notice. Such
an application itself suspends the operation of the notice. If the tenant is
successful in that application, the tenancy will continue as before, and
the landlord will be unable to proceed with summary termination. It would
remain open to the landlord to commence the court-based termination
procedure by serving a tenant default notice, and then making a
termination claim. 45
(4) On expiry of the one-month period, or where an application for a
discharge order is dismissed, 46 the tenancy terminates. Once the tenancy
has terminated, the landlord may recover possession. Where a person is
in occupation (thereby rendering it unlawful to enter the premises without
sanction of the court) the landlord should seek a possession order from
the court. 47
(5) After the tenancy has terminated, the tenant (or any qualifying interest
holder) may still apply for an order of the court in relation to the
terminated tenancy until six months have expired from the termination
date.
(6) The court may respond to such an application by making any order that it
thinks fit. This may include the grant of a new tenancy, an overriding
tenancy 48 or the payment of compensation to the applicant. What the
44 See Part 3.
45 The landlord runs the risk that the default period will have expired, which would prevent the
subsequent serving of a tenant default notice. Where this would cause injustice, the court
may exercise its discretion to dispense with the need for a tenant default notice to be
served within the default period (or to be served at all).
46 And the time limit for any appeal from that determination has expired or, where there is an
appeal, that appeal has been determined.
47
See para 7.100. The order may be sought at the hearing of the application for a discharge
order.
48 Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, s 19.
146