Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

3 Duty to inform tenant of assignment of landlord’s interest. E+W

(1) If the interest of the landlord under a tenancy of premises which consist of or include a dwelling is assigned, the new landlord shall give notice in writing of the assignment, and of his name and address, to the tenant not later than the next day on which rent is payable under the tenancy or, if that is within two months of the assignment, the end of that period of two months.

(2) If trustees consititute the new landlord, a collective description of the trustes as the trustees of the trust in question may be given as the name of the landlord, and where such a collective description is given—

(a) the address of the new landlord may be given as the address from which the affairs of the trust are conducted, and

(b) a change in the persons who are for the time being the trustees of the trust shall not be treated as an assignment of the interest of the landlord.

(3) A person who is the new landlord under a tenancy falling within subsection (1) and who fails, without reasonable excuse to give the notice required by that subsection, commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

[F1 (3A) The person who was the landlord under the tenancy immediately before the assignment (“the old landlord”) shall be liable to the tenant in respect of any breach of any covenant, condition or agreement under the tenancy occurring before the end of the relevant period in like manner as if the interest assigned were still vested in him; and where the new landlord is also liable to the tenant in respect of any such breach occurring within that period, he and the old landlord shall be jointly and severally liable in respect of it.

(3B) In subsection (3A) “the relevant period” means the period beginning with the date of the assignment and ending with the date when—

(a) notice in writing of the assignment, and of the new landlord’s name and address, is given to the tenant by the new landlord (whether in accordance with subsection (1) or not), or

(b) notice in writing of the assignment, and of the new landlord’s name and last-known address, is given to the tenant by the old landlord,

whichever happens first.]

(4) In this section—

(a) “tenancy” includes a statutory tenancy, and

(b) references to the assignment of the landlord’s interest include any conveyance other than a mortgage or charge.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 3(3A)(3B) inserted by Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (c. 31, SIF 75:1), s. 50