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Consultation Paper on the General Law of the Landlord and Tenant

Consultation Paper on the General Law of the Landlord and Tenant

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E <strong>L<strong>and</strong>lord</strong>’s Identity <strong>and</strong> Agent6.22 In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> dwellings previously c<strong>on</strong>trolled under <strong>the</strong>Rent Restricti<strong>on</strong> Acts 1960-81, <strong>the</strong> Housing (Private RentedDwellings) Regulati<strong>on</strong>s 1982 75 required l<strong>and</strong>lords to provide tenants<strong>of</strong> dwellings with rent books or similar documents c<strong>on</strong>taining basicinformati<strong>on</strong> like <strong>the</strong> name <strong>and</strong> address <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord <strong>and</strong> his or heragent (if any). Then <strong>the</strong> Housing (Rent Books) Regulati<strong>on</strong>s 1993 76extended <strong>the</strong> requirement <strong>of</strong> provisi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> rent books c<strong>on</strong>taining suchinformati<strong>on</strong> to a much wider range <strong>of</strong> dwellings rented by both public<strong>and</strong> private l<strong>and</strong>lords. 77 The Residential Tenancies Bill 2003 proposesto reinforce <strong>the</strong>se obligati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lords <strong>of</strong> dwellings byintroducing an obligati<strong>on</strong> 78 to –“(e) notify <strong>the</strong> tenant <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> name <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pers<strong>on</strong>, if any, (<strong>the</strong>“authorised agent”) who is authorised by <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord to act<strong>on</strong> his or her behalf in relati<strong>on</strong> to <strong>the</strong> tenancy for <strong>the</strong> timebeing,(f) provide to <strong>the</strong> tenant particulars <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> means by which<strong>the</strong> tenant may, at all reas<strong>on</strong>able times, c<strong>on</strong>tact him or her orhis or her authorised agent” 79The Commissi<strong>on</strong> inclines to <strong>the</strong> view that knowing who <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord’s agent are, <strong>and</strong> how <strong>the</strong>y can be c<strong>on</strong>tacted, isfundamental to <strong>the</strong> relati<strong>on</strong>ship <strong>of</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord <strong>and</strong> tenant. TheCommissi<strong>on</strong> provisi<strong>on</strong>ally recommends that <strong>the</strong> provisi<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> secti<strong>on</strong>12(1)(e) <strong>and</strong> (f) <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Residential Tenancies Bill 2003, imposing anobligati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lords to furnish tenants with c<strong>on</strong>tact details, shouldbe extended, in some form or o<strong>the</strong>r, to tenancies in general.7576777879SI No 217 <strong>of</strong> 1982 (made under secti<strong>on</strong> 25 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Housing (Private RentedDwellings) Act 1982): see Wylie Irish <strong>L<strong>and</strong>lord</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tenant</strong> <strong>Law</strong> (2 nd edButterworths 1998) paragraph 5.51.SI No 146 <strong>of</strong> 1993 (made under secti<strong>on</strong> 17 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Housing (MiscellaneousProvisi<strong>on</strong>s) Act 1992), as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Department <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Envir<strong>on</strong>mentHeritage <strong>and</strong> Local Government’s Charter for Rented Housing, asenvisaged by its earlier reports: A Plan for Social Housing (1991) <strong>and</strong>Social Housing: The Way Ahead (1995).See Wylie op cit paragraph 5.52.Again which could not be c<strong>on</strong>tracted out <strong>of</strong>: see secti<strong>on</strong> 18.Secti<strong>on</strong> 12(1)(e) <strong>and</strong> (f).107

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