Rights and Obligations of

Landlords and Tenants

There is often confusion on the part of ordinary tenants and their landlords as to whether there are, and if so what are, such legally binding terms and conditions on them in relation to the tenancy which, while they may not specifically have agreed expressly, in law they may be liable to each other for.

Ordinary and most common tenancies as are known to most had not been much concerned with by the law in the past, and the law, traditionally, have mostly concentrated on sale and purchase of land (having defined   as 'real property' the land and any buildings on it -including what it called 'fixtures' which are things that are part and parcel of them such as the sink or the wash-basin in a building, and as what it calls a 'real-estate' or 'free-hold estate' in them [estate meaning interest], and 'personal property' such as what it calls a 'leasehold-estate' [interest for a fixed period of time  only, in 'real property' e.g. a lease in a farm, dwelling, barn, or shop] which it calls 'real-chattels' and things such as one's car or motor-cycle which it calls 'personal-chattels' and includes furniture, e.g., one's writing desk or one's pictures on the wall); in relation to other kinds of tenancies the law has been very slow to recognise tenancies other than those, for example in England only in 1966 having the Law Commission considered the creation of a further type of them called 'common-hold' (where neighbouring interdependence is somehow involved) and rather reluctant regarding such tenancies as 'tenancies at will' (determined at any time by notice) ~but it has made some progress such as by what it calls 'tenancies at sufferance' (a legal device by virtue of which a tenant who cannot do otherwise but to hold on to a tenancy after its expiration is protected as long as continues to pay [or on evidence to offer -if rejected] rent until the matter is resolved from being treated as trespasser) -and, in England, for example, in respect of 'periodical tenancies' (those that most people are most familiar with -such as monthly or weekly tenancies of residential accommodation) there has been since recently, the Protection From Eviction Act 1977.             

Many tenancies, such as in respect of most people's apartments, flats, bed-sits, need not be in writing contracted for (Section 2 of the Law of Property [Miscellaneous] Provision Act 1989 recognises in these respects verbally made contracts [i.e., agreements] to be legally binding -if they can be shown to have been made), and be they directly formed or through accommodation agencies the premises have been let, such tenancies also are subject automatically, even if not specifically so agreed, to various conditions, rights and duties, on the part of, both, the landlord and the tenant, which the law deems implied and legally binding on the part of them, and in the case of breach of them capable of making either in law liable to the other.

To begin, first, with those that are about landlords…

… The landlord must ensure what the law calls 'quiet enjoyment' of the premises by the tenant in respect also of such lettings ~which means simply, this, that the landlord or anyone for and behalf of him must not interfere with the let premises, nor with the tenant -except in exceptional circumstances which can be shown in law to be reasonable and justified.

The landlord, for example, must not derogatorily behave -the landlord's behaviour must be such that will not result in the let premises becoming unfit for the purpose which the tenant intended.

If, for example, the premises were let as furnished accommodation, they must not be unfit for the tenant's habitation ~the premises must be reasonably fit for human habitation under Section 8 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 -this is taken as and implied term whether specifically agreed or not and he must ensure at all times to keep it fit so.

The landlord must ensure (where the tenancy is not one contracted for as a lease for a period of time longer than seven years) to keep the premises also structurally fit, al well as externally, and at all times in good repair -this indeed in England has now been made an express legal requirement by Sections 11-14 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 and include such internal installations of the premises as enables the supply of water, sanitation, electricity and gas.

The obligations of the tenant in law can be summarised as follows…

… It is, essentially, an obligation on the part of the tenant to pay rent, as well a rates and taxes -for example the community tax it would be the tenant's obligation to pay and not the landlord's (although often the amount stated as 'rent' in the case of apartments, flats, bed-sits, e.g. weekly-paid or weekly-based tenancies is inclusive of these and these are paid in such cases often by the landlord, even if a breakdown has not been to the tenant given as such).

In tenancies of the kind that are of most people's, i.e., tenancies not for a fixed term of years, such in the case of the weekly tenancies, it is not the tenant's own responsibility to take care of the premises to the extent of protecting the premises against deterioration (indeed to keep in good repair the exterior of the building and to keep it in good repair structurally is not the only expectation from the landlord, and in such tenancies as weekly it is the norm that considerably also internally the landlord is expected to attend to repairs); but, there is an expectation in law on the tenant not to so make use of the premises as can reasonably be argued in law as amounting to unreasonable and unjustifiably damage to it.

And, of course, on the same lines, the tenant is obliged by law not to refuse reasonable access to the landlord, where the landlord is under an obligation in law to carry out repairs and can only do so by being permitted reasonable access.

In respect of these kinds of tenancies and as distinct from various land tribunals -which are for other kinds of dealings to do with land, in some countries, there are what are called 'rent-commissions' or, in the case of the United Kingdom 'rent services' (previously called 'rent-tribunals') whose functions are mainly to fix fair rents -but in practice they are used more as protection against harassment or threats or notices by landlords to evict tenants -until and unless under Section 5 of the Protection From Eviction Act 1977 the landlord has served a written notice to quit of at least four weeks and/or sues at the county court and obtains an eviction order, and there is little that can be done by such tribunals once the eviction, unlawful though it may be, takes place, short of legal proceedings against the landlord, and the major effect of these tribunals often is that if a private landlord's behaviour does land that landlord before them, that landlord then has a fair rent determined and registered for that property which the law prevents him in the future to let that property for a higher rent, except after justifying improvement and an application to vary it).

Such tenancies also sometimes have written terms, usually as above -and the law often requires the issuing of rent-books, but, where a written agreement does not exist, these, subject to governments' varying policies which may affect the laws, are, normally and generally, everywhere and always, the basic rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in relation to these kinds of tenancies.

May be of interest -click   TEACHER OF TEACHERS