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A shorthold tenancy occurs when:
• you have a guaranteed right to get your home back after six months if you need to.
• you have the flexibility of charging market rent, which is the going rate for other properties of similar nature in the area.
• you can get your home back if your tenant owes you at least two months or eight weeks rent by serving appropriate notice under the Housing Act.
• The tenants can be evicted for causing nuisance and displaying anti-social behaviour to the communities in the vicinity.
• The tenancy is agreed for a set period (known as a ‘fixed term’). The tenancy can also be an open-ended depending on the mutual arrangements agreed between the parties.
How a shorthold tenancy can be brought to an end?
At the end of the fixed term the tenancy can be terminated without having to give a reason provided the fixed term had ended and a statutory notice of at least two months in writing has been provided to the tenant to confirm that you wanted the property back.
There are other grounds available to the landlords to seek possession back of the property and these are set out in the legislation/ Housing Act 1985. These include rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, and damage caused to the premises by the tenant. The length of the written notice will be determined by the ground the landlord is using to get his property back from the tenant.
What if the tenant does not leave upon maturity of the notice?
The landlord will need to apply to the court for a formal possession order if the tenants do not leave upon the maturity of the notice. Where the fixed term has ended and the landlord has complied with all of his obligations, an accelerated possession procedure can be used which will result in possession order being made without the parties attending court.
