Question

England | Start of a Tenancy (England) | Types of Tenancies (England)

AST – main residence

9 Jun 2022 | 2 comments

Hi

If I issue an AST to applicants who have stated on their application forms that the ppty will be their main residence, and if in due course it turns out that it was never intended to be the main residence of one of them, would that have any effect on my later ability to issue a notice of eviction?

Answer

2 Comments

  1. guildy

    An AST can drift in and out of being an AST depending on circumstances.

    The legislation says it’s an AST “if at any time … it’s only or principal home …”.

    However, because the document was correct at the time and based upon the information, you’d have to have some exceptional and apparent reason not to serve a section 21 notice.

    You would wait until a time when you need to serve notice and look at the situation at that moment.

  2. BurnhamRental

    Tenants whose Main Home is not the property they are renting, would have a Contractual tenancy not an AST.

    That means no grounds needed for Eviction at court.

    Obviously, it is important to establish if their Main Home has changed – and I do that by writing to them every 3 months for clarification and within that email I remind them that they must notify me immediately IF the rental property becomes their Main Home.

    There is no requirement to protect a Deposit on a Contractual Tenancy but I do it anyway just in case the Tenancy does become an AST later.

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