A failure by a landlord under the pre-1996 assured shorthold tenancy regime, to insert the correct tenancy dates in a shorthold notice, meant that the tenancy became an assured tenancy, since the arrangement failed to meet the requirements to create a shorthold tenancy. The divisional court had decided that the landlord’s possession action had failed, but that the notice had been effective to create only a shorthold tenancy. The tenant appealed, but the landlord took no part saying the tenant had already achieved what he required.
Held: The error was of the non-obvious kind, and failed to meet the test as described in Mannai, and it was ineffective. The tenancy was an assured tenany, not a shorthold tenancy.
Butler-Sloss LJ, Holman J
Times 26-May-1999, Gazette 26-May-1999, [1999] EWCA Civ 1416, [1999] 2 EGLR 63, (1999) 32 HLR 6324
Bailii
Housing Act 1988 20
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Curtis v London Rent Assessment Committee CA 1999
The Court of Appeal was itself able to remit the case back direct to the rent assessment committee for a new determination of the rent, exercising the power of the court below: ‘If … McCullough J ‘s rulings on the substantive issue are wrong or . .
Cited – Panayi and Pyrkos v Roberts CA 1993
A shorthold tenancy notice was issued before the tenancy began, but it gave the wrong date for termination.
Held: The prescribed form required the correct termination date. A notice with a wrong date is not substantially the same as one with a . .
Cited – Andrews and Another v Brewer and Another CA 17-Feb-1997
Tenants challenged an order for possession, saying the form of notice was defective. The date specified in the notice was clearly a clerical error. It provided that the tenancy would commence on 29 May 1993 and end on 28 May 1993, on the face of it, . .
Cited – Mannai Investment Co Ltd v Eagle Star Assurance HL 21-May-1997
Minor Irregularity in Break Notice Not Fatal
Leases contained clauses allowing the tenant to break the lease by serving not less than six months notice to expire on the third anniversary of the commencement date of the term of the lease. The tenant gave notice to determine the leases on 12th . .
Cited by:
Cited – Ravenseft Properties Ltd v Hall; White v Chubb; similar CA 19-Dec-2001
Parties appealed decisions as whether assured shorthold tenancy notices were valid despite errors.
Held: If, notwithstanding errors or omissions, the substance of the notice was sufficiently clear to the reasonable person reading it, then the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant, Housing
Updated: 16 December 2021; Ref: scu.79222