Renting Homes: The Final Report - Law Commission

PART 11
OTHER RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
11.1 In this final Part we deal briefly with a number of other matters in the Bill, not so
far discussed.
OBTAINING A CONTRACT BY MAKING A FALSE STATEMENT
11.2 It is a fundamental provision of all occupation contracts that if a landlord is
induced to make a contract by means of a relevant false statement, the contractholder
is to be treated as in breach of the contract. Thus the landlord may take
possession proceedings against him. 1 A false statement is relevant if it is made
knowingly or recklessly by the contract-holder or another person acting at the
contract-holder’s instigation. 2
11.3 The effect of making this a fundamental term in the contract is that the occupier is
clearly put on notice that such deception may lead to loss of the home, rather
than any other consequences that might flow from the more general law on
deception or fraud. 3 An equivalent provision has been available to landlords for
some years and, while not widely used, has on occasion been very effective.
PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO OCCUPY 4
11.4 A contract-holder has the right to occupy the premises to which the occupation
contract relates. (This is the equivalent of what has traditionally been known, in
landlord and tenant law, as the right to quiet enjoyment. The right to quiet
enjoyment is currently implied into leases but not licences. We consider that the
phrase “quiet enjoyment” is potentially misleading to contract-holders, so we do
not use it in the Bill, especially as not all occupation contracts will be tenancies.)
The Bill protects that right by prohibiting a landlord from doing anything that
interferes with that right, or where an omission to do an act interferes with it,
omitting to do that act. 5
1 Cl 64(1).
2 Cl 64(2).
3 The existence of the statutory provision does not mean that use of the common law on
fraud or deception is thereby prevented. There may be cases where the common law can
be used. It is our view that experience of the law in practice suggests that the statutory
provision we include here is an effective way of ensuring the occupier is aware of the
consequences of any deception or fraud.
4 This is discussed in Part 8 of Renting Homes (2003) Law Com No 284.
5 Cl 65(1). The landlord also interferes with the contract-holder’s right if a person who claims
under the landlord or has an interest in the premises that is superior to the landlord’s does
a lawful act (or lawfully omits to do an act) that interferes with the contract-holder’s right: cl
65(4).
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