Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1985 c. 70 |
| Year | 1985 |
Landlord and TenantAct 1985
1985 CHAPTER 70
An Act to consolidate certain provisions of the law of landlord and tenant formerly found in the Housing Acts, together with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1962, with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Law Commission.
[30th October 1985]
B e it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Information to be given to tenant
1 Disclosure of landlord's identity.
(1) If the tenant of premises occupied as a dwelling makes a written request for the landlord's name and address to—
( a ) any person who demands, or the last person who received, rent payable under the tenancy, or
( b ) any other person for the time being acting as agent for the landlord, in relation to the tenancy,
that person shall supply the tenant with a written statement of the landlord's name and address within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he receives the request.
(2) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (1) commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(3) In this section and section 2—
( a ) ‘tenant’ includes a statutory tenant;
and
( b ) ‘landlord’ means the immediate landlord.
2 Disclosure of directors, &c. of corporate landlord.
(1) Where a tenant is supplied under section 1 with the name and address of his landlord and the landlord is a body corporate, he may make a further written request to the landlord for the name and address of every director and of the secretary of the landlord.
(2) The landlord shall supply the tenant with a written statement of the information requested within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he receives the request.
(3) A request under this section is duly made to the landlord if it is made to—
( a ) an agent of the landlord, or
( b ) a person who demands the rent of the premises concerned:
and any such agent or person to whom such a request is made shall forward it to the landlord as soon as may be.
(4) A landlord who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a request under this section, and a person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a requirement imposed on him by subsection (3), commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
3 Duty to inform tenant of assignment of landlord's interest.
(1) If the interest of the landlord under a tenancy of premises which consist of or include a dwelling is assigned, the new landlord shall give notice in writing of the assignment, and of his name and address, to the tenant not later than the next day on which rent is payable under the tenancy or, if that is within two months of the assignment, the end of that period of two months.
(2) If trustees constitute the new landlord, a collective description of the trustees as the trustees of the trust in question may be given as the name of the landlord, and where such a collective description is given—
( a ) the address of the new landlord may be given as the address from which the affairs of the trust are conducted, and
( b ) a change in the persons who are for the time being the trustees of the trust shall not be treated as an assignment of the interest of the landlord.
(3) A person who is the new landlord under a tenancy falling within subsection (1) and who fails, without reasonable excuse, to give the notice required by that subsection, commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(4) In this section—
( a ) ‘tenancy’ includes a statutory tenancy, and
( b ) references to the assignment of the landlord's interest include any conveyance other than a mortgage or charge.
Provision of rent books
4 Provision of rent books.
(1) Where a tenant has a right to occupy premises as a residence in consideration of a rent payable weekly, the landlord shall provide a rent book or other similar document for use in respect of the premises.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to premises if the rent includes a payment in respect of board and the value of that board to the tenant forms a substantial proportion of the whole rent.
(3) In this section and sections 5 to 7—
( a ) ‘tenant’ includes a statutory tenant and a person having a contractual right to occupy the premises; and
( b ) ‘landlord’, in relation to a person having such a contractual right, means the person who granted the right or any successor in title of his, as the case may require.
5 Information to be contained in rent books.
(1) A rent book or other similar document provided in pursuance of section 4 shall contain notice of the name and address of the landlord of the premises and—
( a ) if the premises are occupied by virtue of a restricted contract, particulars of the rent and of the other terms and conditions of the contract and notice of such other matters as may be prescribed;
( b ) if the premises are let on or subject to a protected or statutory tenancy, notice of such matters as may be prescribed.
(2) If the premises are occupied by virtue of a restricted contract or let on or subject to a protected or statutory tenancy, the notice and particulars required by this section shall be in the prescribed form.
(3) In this section ‘prescribed’ means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State, which—
( a ) may make different provision for different cases, and
( b ) shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
6 Information to be supplied by companies.
(1) Where the landlord of premises to which section 4(1) applies (premises occupied as a residence at a weekly rent) is a company, and the tenant serves on the landlord a request in writing to that effect, the landlord shall give the tenant in writing particulars of the name and address of every director and of the secretary of the company.
(2) A request under this section is duly served on the landlord if it is served—
( a ) on an agent of the landlord named as such in the rent book or other similar document, or
( b ) on the person who receives the rent of the premises;
and a person on whom a request is so served shall forward it to the landlord as soon as may be.
7 Offences.
(1) If the landlord of premises to which section 4(1) applies (premises occupied as a residence at a weekly rent) fails to comply with any relevant requirement of—
section 4 (provision of rent book),
section 5 (information to be contained in rent book), or
section 6 (information to be supplied by companies),
he commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(2) If a person demands or receives rent on behalf of the landlord of such premises while any relevant requirement of—
section 4 (provision of rent book), or
section 5 (information to be contained in rent book),
is not complied with, then, unless he shows that he neither knew nor had reasonable cause to suspect that any such requirement had not been complied with, he commits a summary offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(3) If a person fails to comply with a requirement imposed on him by section 6(2) (duty to forward request to landlord), he commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(4) If a default in respect of which—
( a ) a landlord is convicted of an offence under subsection (1), or
( b ) another person is convicted of an offence under subsection (3),
continues for more than 14 days after the conviction, the landlord or other person commits a further offence under that subsection in respect of the default.
Implied terms as to fitness for human habitation
8 Implied terms as to fitness for human habitation.
(1) In a contract to which this section applies for the letting of a house for human habitation there is implied, notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary—
( a ) a condition that the house is fit for human habitation at the commencement of the tenancy, and
( b ) an undertaking that the house will be kept by the landlord fit for human habitation during the tenancy.
(2) The landlord, or a person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day, on giving 24 hours' notice in writing to the tenant or occupier, enter premises to which this section applies for the purpose of viewing their state and condition.
(3) This section applies to a contract if—
( a ) the rent does not exceed the figure applicable in accordance with subsection (4),...
To continue reading
Request your trial