The plaintiffs took occupation under an agreement which purported to grant a non exclusive right of possession of the flat, and to be personal. Occupation could only be shared with persons approved in advance by L. L’s agent had said the agreement was intended to get around the Rent Acts. L purported to terminate the agreement, and the occupiers claimed a tenancy.
Held: The right reserved to the owner to require them to share with others was contrary to the provisions of the Rent Acts and was in any event a pretence intended only to get round the Rent Acts. However the parties knew of the pretence, and the agreement created a licence.
References: [1984] 272 EG 326
Jurisdiction: England and Wales
This case cites:
- Considered – Snook v London and West Riding Investments Ltd CA 1967
Sham requires common intent to create other result
The court considered a claim by a hire-purchase company for the return of a vehicle. The bailee said the agreement was a sham.
Held: The word ‘sham’ should only be used to describe an act or document where the parties have a common intention . .
([1967] 2 QB 786, [1967] 1 All ER 518, [1967] 2 WLR 1020) - Cited – Somma v Hazelhurst CA 1978
s
A young unmarried couple H and S occupied a double bedsitting room for which they paid a weekly rent. The landlord did not provide services or attendance and the couple were not lodgers but tenants enjoying exclusive possession.
Held: The . .
([1978] 1 WLR 1014)
This case is cited by:
- Disapproved – 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: . .
([1985] 1 EGLR 128, [1985] 2 All ER 289, [1985] 2 WLR 877, [1985] AC 809, [1985] UKHL 4, ) - Cited – A G Securities v Vaughan; Antoniades v Villiers and Bridger HL 10-Nov-1988
In Antoniades, the two tenants occupied an attic, living together. Each had at the same time signed identical agreements purporting to create licences. The landlord had reserved to himself the right to occupy the property and to allow others to . .
([1988] 1 EGLR 36, [1990] 1 AC 417, [1988] 3 WLR 1205, , [1988] UKHL 8, [1988] 3 All ER 1058)
These lists may be incomplete.
Last Update: 27 November 2020; Ref: scu.191970
