Landlord and Tenant Act 1987

Product Information

Where contracts are exchanged for the disposal before sufficient flats are sold, the subsequent completion will be exempt. Steve Hobbs provided an excellent service, and was very clear and helpful in explaining the process and answering my questions. If you require help or advice on mixed use premises or other related matters, please contact our expert real estate team.

Both of these cases amply illustrate the dire consequences that can flow from a disposal in breach of the Act and provide a salutary lesson to landlords of residential and mixed-use properties.There is also a delay of two months; a prospective purchaser may not be willing to wait for that time.

Our neighbours chose to use them as a joint surveyor and they seemed to act positively but fairly for all parties. So they needed a little help from us chasing up the owner otherwise we would have missed the legal timeframe for getting a response. The very recent case of Artist Court Collective Limited v Khan [2015] PLSCS 313 involved a mixed-use building in East London; 3 commercial units on the ground floor, with 8 residential flats above let on long leases. Despite initially similar circumstances, the case of Green v Westleigh Properties Limited [2008] EWHC 1474 (QB) is a good example of the lengths to which courts may go to protect tenants affected by the Act.

Very quick to answer all queries and get booked in and very helpful, Ishrat was great and helped me organize a survey quickly and easily. The 1987 Act provides a wide definition of "qualifying tenants" which includes any tenant of a flat under a tenancy, save for some specific exceptions including business tenancies and ASTs. This Part also does not apply to any such premises at a time when the interest of the landlord in the premises is held by an exempt landlord or a resident landlord.

A “relevant disposal” includes all disposals by the immediate landlord; although there are some limited exceptions. A lease of a flat is expressly excluded from the right of first refusal, but there is no such exemption for a lease of a commercial unit. It was very easy to arrange to speak to our surveyor (Shaun) who was easy to talk to and patient with our questions.Landlords need to be aware of the provisions of the LTA 1987 as there are serious repercussions if it is not complied with. If a landlord wishes to avoid having to serve notices under the LTA 1987 it could dispose of the commercial units prior to 50% of the residential units being occupied (as LTA 1987 will not be triggered at this point).