After a year’s grace, The Act now amends the current implied “fitness obligations” under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, so it will apply to all new and existing periodic or secure tenancies as from 20 March 2020.
What does that mean for you as a Registered Provider and/or a local authority landlord?
The new Section 9A(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires you to let properties that are “fit for human habitation”. You must ensure that all dwellings let under an assured (shorthold) or secure tenancy are:
This covenant will also apply to all parts of the building that you hold an interest or estate in, e.g. common parts or retained parts (the outside walls, windows and roof). Should you fail to comply, then your tenants will have a right to take action.
There are of course exceptions and/or potential defences that you can rely on which include the following:
What does “fit for habitation” cover?
The amended Section 10 comprises of a list of conditions that could make a property “unfit for human habitation” and that list includes:
We expect to see the volume of claims for compensation being brought by tenant’s solicitors to increase rapidly which will impact on your budgets and capacity to carry out works.
Consequently, we have already seen a revised version of The Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims by Social Landlords. The renaming of the protocol is arguably the most obvious change. The protocol has now been renamed, the “Pre- Action Protocol for Housing Condition Cases (England)”. In addition, all references to ‘housing disrepair’ have been replaced by “housing conditions” throughout.
Apart from some very minor wording tweaks in Annex A and B, the protocol remains the same. It is also important to note that the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing disrepair in Wales has remained the same.
For more information do contact Baljit Basra or Alex Loxton.
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