The defendant was employed by the local authority as a house-master at a school run by the plaintiff. He held a service licence of a furnished flat at the school expressed to be ‘for the better performance of his duties’. Later he married, and on his request was allowed to occupy a school house. Though no formal tenancy existed, correspondence between the defendant and the local authority referred to by the authority as a tenancy at a yearly rent of andpound;256, and this occurred also in the eventual notice to quit served when the employment came to an end. Possession was granted on the basis that the occupation of the house was a continuation of the licence arrangement for the flat. He now appealed against the possession order.
Held: The appeal succeeded. When residential property was occupied for a term at a rent and with exclusive possession, te grant is a tenancy save in exceptional circumstances. It was not suggested that his occupation of the house was under a service occupancy, and neither the previous occupation of the flat, nor the low rent, nor the informality of the paperwork, nor any other feature relied upon by the landlord amount to an exceptional circumstance.
Citations:
(1985) 276 EG 1068, [1986] 18 HLR 83
Citing:
Applied – Street v Mountford HL 6-Mar-1985
When a licence is really a tenancy
The document signed by the occupier stated that she understood that she had been given a licence, and that she understood that she had not been granted a tenancy protected under the Rent Acts. Exclusive occupation was in fact granted.
Held: . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing, Employment
Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.536771
