Quote: "Possession is nine tenths of the law" - meaning that at law, if you have possession, you have temporary advantage - old English saying.
Most tenancies end naturally, i.e. by the tenant giving the landlord notice that he/she wants to leave.
There's no problem here because, although most landlords are reluctant to see good tenants leave, providing they give written notice and they are at the end of their fixed-term tenancy, they are perfectly entitled to do this.
However, sometimes, for various reasons, the landlord wants his tenant/s to leave. The landlord cannot end a tenancy during the fixed-term unless the tenant is seriously breaching the terms of the tenancy. He can however terminate the tenancy after the end of the fixed-term, when the tenancy has entered a periodic phase - a contractual or a statutory perodic tenancy.
Tenancies enter a statutory periodic phase (the most common one) when the fixed-term ends and the landlord allows the tenancy to continue without asking the tenant to formally renew.
If the rent is paid monthly, then the tenancy becomes a monthly statutory periodic tenancy. Here the tenant can leave with one month's notice or the landlord can seek possession with 2 months' notice.
A tenant cannot leave a tenancy within the fixed-term without penalty. If a tenant has contracted to a fixed-term he is liable to pay rent for the whole of the term, unless either the landlord is willing to release him from the contract or negotiate a settlement.
Where the tenancy has become a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (where the fixed-term has ended and no new agreement signed for another fixed-term) the tenant must give the landlord notice (see notice to quit) if he wants to leave:
The notice period must end at the end of a tenancy payment period: for example, if the rent payment date is on the 20th of each month, the notice period must end on the 19th of the month.
The tenancy agreement cannot change these basic rules, 4 weeks being the minimum notice period. However, if the tenancy period is more than 4 weeks, for example, one month, then the notice period is one month.
To end an AST during the fixed-term or the initial 6 months of an AST the landlord has to have a good reason to bring an AST to an end.
The landlord can only seek possession on certain grounds specified in the 1988 Housing Act (as amended by the 1996 Housing Act) - grounds 2,8,10,11,12,13,14,15 or 17 - see Grounds for Possession.
Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules applies to all claims for possession - CPR 55
Once the fixed-term of an AST has ended the tenancy will automatically become a statutory periodic tenancy, unless the landlord and tenant agree to a contractual periodic tenancy or a formal replacement AST.
The landlord does not have to give a reason to regain possession in order to bring an AST to an end once the fixed term has ended or when the tenancy is a periodic one.
However, the landlord must follow a strict legal procedure (Civil Procedure Rules CPR 55) including giving notice (Notice Requiring Possession) in a specified form (Section 21 Notice) and, where the tenant refuses to leave, by obtaining a court possession order.
A Section 21 Notice must be served during the fixed term (s 21(5)a) giving the tenant a minimum of two months' notice if the landlord wants possession immediately after the end of the fixed-term.
Tenancies run on calander months which means they always start and end on the same date. For example, a tenancy commencing on the 10th of the month will end on the 9th. Therefore, a six month AST commencing on the 10th of June will end on the 9th of December.
If the notice is served late, i.e., less than 2 months before the end of the tenancy, then the notice can be served up to and including the last day of the tenancy but possession procedings cannot commence until the full two months' notice has expired.
In the case of a periodic tenancy this notice (s21(5)b) period must end on the last day of a tenancy period. For example, the fixed term ended on the 9th of December but the tenancy is allowed to become a statutory periodic tenancy (becasue the landlord did nothing). The landlord decides on the 15th of the following February that he requires possession. If he serves notice without delay the notice requiring possession must require possession AFTER the 9th of May, giving a full two months' notice.
Once the notice period has expired, if the tenant has not left, the landlord can apply to the County Court for a Possession Order. The Court must then grant the order provided that the notice is valid and that the fixed-term has expired.
If there is a written tenancy agreement then the landlord can use the accelerated possession procedure, which allows a possession order to be granted without a court hearing. The hearing is likely to be successful providing all the paperwork is in order - tenancy agreement and notice requiring possession.
However, where the is no tenancy agreement the accelerated possession procedure cannot be used and here the judge will schedule a formal hearing.
A formal hearing will also usually be required where the tenant appeals and requests one, or simply when the Judge decides to call one.
Note: it is quite common for possession procedings to be "thrown out" because of minor errors in the paperwork, especially notices - so be very careful!
