The Law Commission has issues an interim statement signposting its provisional conclusions on the consultation on business leaders under the Landlord and Tennant Act 1954 (the 1954 Act).
We previously reported on the consultation paper, which ran from 19 November 2024 to 19 February 2025.
The paper addressed questions such as:
- Whether the current regime for 'contracting out' tenancies under the 1954 Act should be kept or changed;
- What types of tenancies should benefit from security of tenure under the 1954 Act; and
- What length of tenancy should gain the benefit of the right of security of tenure under the Act.
The Law Commission has published its provisional conclusions on each of these questions.
Model of Security of Tenure
The Law Commission's provisional conclusion is that the existing contracting out mechanism is the appropriate mechanism.
In reaching that view, it was noted that "the arguments in favour of retaining this model were powerful and it received the broadest support among consultees".
The Law Commission also noted that various consultees had referenced concerns with changes to the current regime triggering unwarranted disruption to the market.
Types of Tenancy
The Consultation Paper questioned whether the types of tenancies that currently benefit from the 1954 Act regime are the right ones. For example, agricultural tenancies are not caught by the 1954 Act regime. The Law Commission's preliminary conclusion is that the current position should remain.
Length of Tenancy
The 1954 Act provides that tenancies of less than six months are excluded from gaining security of tenure under the 1954 Act. The Consultation Paper sought to understand whether this is appropriate.
It was noted that views in this respect were mixed. However, there was general support for an increase to the current six-month threshold. The Law Commission's preliminary conclusion is that this threshold should be increased, and a further consultation is likely on whether the six-month period should be increased to two years.
We will continue to remain involved in the consultation on the 1954 Act and look forward to a further consultation being released in due course.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the consultation paper or its potential implications, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
