Renting Homes: The Final Report - Law Commission

4.74 The overall thrust of our recommendations relating to the development of the
secure contract has been to align assured tenancies with secure tenancies. We
therefore think that the circumstances in which a secure contract may be
terminated on estate management grounds should be set out clearly, but with
some flexibility to cover cases where there is a substantial estate management
reason which does not fall precisely into another specific category. For a landlord
to be able to use the estate management grounds:
(1) “suitable alternative accommodation” must be available; and
(2) in addition, being a discretionary ground for possession, a court must be
satisfied that it is reasonable to make any order for possession. 90
4.75 If a court makes an order on an estate management ground (but no other
ground), the landlord must pay to the contract-holder a sum equal to the
reasonable expenses likely to be incurred by the contract-holder in moving from
the original premises. 91 This does not apply where the ground is one of the two
“redevelopment” grounds (see below, paragraph 4.79). 92
The estate management grounds
4.76 The Bill sets out the detailed circumstances in which the estate management
grounds come into operation. There are nine such grounds set out in schedule 6,
part 1 of the Bill. They may be grouped into the following categories:
(1) redevelopment grounds (grounds A and B);
(2) special accommodation grounds (grounds C to F); and
(3) under-occupation grounds (grounds G and H).
4.77 In addition, however well considered legislation may be, there will always be
circumstances which fall outside specific instances set out in a list. There is
therefore a final, more general ground “where it is desirable for some other
substantial estate management reason that the landlord should obtain
possession of the premises” (ground I). Were this ground to be utilised, it would
clearly be necessary for the landlord to demonstrate and the court to accept that
the particular circumstances in which possession was sought were closely
analogous to the specific grounds listed in the schedule.
4.78 The details of the grounds are set out in the Bill. Here we summarise their
principal features.
THE REDEVELOPMENT GROUNDS
4.79 There are two such grounds:
(1) ground A applies where a landlord intends to redevelop the premises and
cannot achieve this without first obtaining possession of the premises;
90 Cls 185(2)(a) and 200(2). We recommend that the discretion be structured: see Part 5.
91 Cl 185(3).
92 Cl 185(4).
80