Rent Act 1977

141County court jurisdiction

(1)A county court shall have jurisdiction, either in the course of any proceedings relating to a dwelling or on an application made for the purpose by the landlord or the tenant, to determine any question—

(a)as to whether a tenancy is a protected tenancy or whether any person is a statutory tenant of a dwelling-house, or whether a mortgage is a controlled mortgage within the meaning of Part X of this Act; or

(b)as to the rent limit; or

(c)as to the rent actually recoverable under a controlled tenancy; or

(d)as to the application of Part V and sections 103 to 106 of this Act to a contract; or

(e)as to whether a protected, statutory or regulated tenancy is a protected, statutory or regulated furnished tenancy;

or as to any matter which is or may become material for determining any such question.

(2)In subsection (1) above " dwelling " and " the rent limit" have, in relation to a controlled tenancy, the same meanings as in Part II of this Act.

(3)A county court shall have jurisdiction to deal with any claim or other proceedings arising out of any of the provisions of this Act specified in subsection (5) below, notwithstanding that by reason of the amount of the claim or otherwise the case would not, apart from this subsection, be within the jurisdiction of a county court.

(4)If, under any of the provisions of this Act specified in subsection (5) below, a person takes proceedings in the High Court which he could have taken in the county court, he shall not be entitled to recover any costs.

(5)The provisions referred to in subsections (3) and (4) above are—

(a)Part II;

(b)in Part III, section 57 ;

(c)Part VII, except sections 98(2) and 101;

(d)in Part IX, sections 125 and 126;

(e)in Part X, sections 133(1), 134 and 135 ; and

(f)in this Part of this Act, sections 145 and 147.