What if they haven served the relevant notice for the prior notice grounds?
If tenancies become fully assured, rather than assured shorthold, on the introduction of the new threshold, landlords will not be able to recover possession without a ground. These grounds are set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988. Some require notice being served on the tenant, prior to the commencement of the tenancy, that the ground may be relied upon. In several cases, the court has power to dispense with service of this notice where it is just and equitable to do so. The courts will be aware that landlords will not have been able to do this and will take this into account. We anticipate this will affect a minority of tenancies, as the majority will become assured shorthold and the landlord will be able to use the notice only ground to recover possession, on expiry of any fixed term.
