Ending Social Tenacies

The tenant must give the Executive 28 days’ notice to quit if they choose to leave. The tenant remains responsible for the property as in the letting termination. A shorter period may be agreed.

The Housing Executive may terminate a tenancy, including a secured tenancy, where the tenant leaves by giving notice or abandons the property. They need to seek a court order for possession where there are reasonable grounds for believing the dwelling houses are unoccupied and the tenant does not intend to occupy it as their home. The landlord may re-enter for the purpose of making the dwelling house safe.

The Housing Executive must serve an abandonment notice on the tenant, requesting that they contact the district office and advise them that if they fail to do so, the tenancy would be terminated. An affirmative notice is then served terminating the tenancy. There is a right of appeal for up to six months from the end of the tenancy.

There was provision regarding abandoned property and furniture. The Housing Executive will seek for up to six months, and after that, it may be sold or disposed of. The tenant may be entitled to the net proceeds, net storage costs, etc., and arrears of rent. The tenant must make arrangements to contact the Executive.

The Executive may seek possession on one of the statutory grounds. It must first include a 28-day notice. After it expires, court proceedings for possession are commenced.

The following are the statutory grounds on which possession may be taken.

• Any rent lawfully due for the tenant has not been paid, and any obligation in the tenancy has been broken and not performed. Rent may also be recovered by other methods. Possession is a last resort, generally if other recovery methods fail.
• Similar considerations apply to other tenancy obligations. The Executive may seek to enforce them through other means.
• The tenant or person residing in or visiting the dwelling houses being guilty of conduct causing or likely to cause nuisance or annoyance to a person residing, visiting, or otherwise engaging in lawful activity in the locality, or the tenant has been convicted of an offense using the dwelling house or allowing it to be used for an immoral or illegal purpose or an indictable offense is committed in the locality of the dwelling house or in it.

A notice seeking possession must state that proceedings may be immediately commenced.

Although a tenant is not responsible for unexpected visitors, they may be liable if they refuse to cooperate with the landlord/Executive in abating a nuisance or detaining an injunction against an offending visitor.

Further ground for a dwelling house occupied, whether alone or with others by a married couple or civil partners or one or both is a tenant, one partner has left because of violence or threats towards the other or towards the member of a family residing with that partner and the court assumes that the partner who has left is unlikely to return while the other continues to occupy the dwelling house.

The court must be satisfied that the person who has left the property is unlikely to return. The Executive may offer possession to the partner who has left, and possession is obtained.

The condition of the dwelling house or any of the common parts is deteriorated owing to acts of waste by or the neglect or default of the tenant or any person residing in the dwelling house, and in the case of any act of waste by or neglect or default of a person lodging with the tenant or a sub-tenant of theirs, the tenant does not take such steps as reasonably to have been taken for the removal of the lodger or sub-tenant.

The condition of any relevant furniture has deteriorated owing to ill-treatment by the tenant or any person residing in the dwelling house or by a sub-tenant, and the tenant has not taken such steps as reasonably to have been taken to remove the lodger or subtenant.

The tenant is the person or one of the persons to whom the tenancy was granted, and the landlord was induced to grant a tenancy by a false statement, maybe knowingly or recklessly by the tenant or a person acting at the tenant’s instigation.

The tenancy was assigned to the tenant or predecessor who is a member of their family and is residing in the dwelling house by an assignment, and a premium was paid either in connection with the assignment or with the assignment which the tenant or predecessor himself made by virtue of that provision.

The dwelling house was made available for occupation by the tenant or a predecessor appears, well works are carried out in the dwelling house which was previously occupied as their only home, and the tenant or predecessor was a secured dwelling tenant of that other dwelling at the time they ceased to occupy it as their home. The tenant or predecessor accepted the tenancy on the understanding they would give up occupation on completion of works, the other dwelling houses are again available for occupation, and the works have been completed or the other dwelling house is available.

The landlord who intends, in a reasonable time, to obtain possession to demolish or reconstruct a building or carry out works on the land together with it and cannot reasonably do so without obtaining possession.

The dwelling house breaches which are substantially offered from those ordinary dwelling houses which are designed to make suitable occupation by physically disabled person who requires accommodation and such a person is no longer residing or the landlord requires it by such a person.

The following ground replaced the housing associations. The dwelling house is one of the group of dwellings which it is the practice of the landlord to let to persons with special needs and social or special facilities provided in close proximity to assist those persons who are no longer persons with those special needs residing in the dwelling house and the landlord requires a dwelling house or occupation whether alone or members of a family by a person who has those special needs.

The accommodation afforded by the dwelling house is more extensive than is reasonably required by the tenant, and the tenancy in the tenant rested in the tenant on the death of the previous tenant, the tenant was qualified to succeed, and notice of proceedings for possession was served or where a notice must be served to proceedings were applicable not more than six months or less than 12 months after the previous tenant’s death. Surviving spouses or partners are not subject to this ground or maybe subject to review by the court which shall take account of date and time they have occupied the dwelling, financial contributions of the tenancy, etc.

Each of the grounds regarding neglect of access/acts of waste to the last ground is subject to what the court considers reasonable. The court will only grant possession if it considers that it is reasonable enough to do so. In the case where the use for occupation by another person, the court must be satisfied that suitable alternative accommodation is available to the tenant.

In considering whether it is reasonable to grant possession, the court will consider a person’s financial disabilities, mental and physical disabilities, and other mitigating factors.

Persons prohibited on grounds of antisocial behavior not generally be rehoused as a priority case. They may be qualified under homeless legislation if there are mitigating factors.

The court will then consider reasonable if it must have regard to the fact that the nuisance or annoyance has other people continuing effective nuisance and annoyance circumstances of the tenant and directly affecting possession on the tenant and their family.

In the case of grounds which require alternative suitable accommodation, the court must be satisfied that the alternative accommodation is secure, suitably located, and adequate for the tenant’s needs.

Possession proceedings against secure tenants require that the landlord serve a notice complying with the requirements in the legislation in the prescribed forms, setting out the grounds for possession of the particulars relied on. The court may determine whether or not they are reasonable.

The court may dispense with a notice in appropriate cases. Proceedings may be commenced on antisocial behavior cases without prior notice.

Where antisocial behavior is involved, the notice of intention served may specify that the landlord may commence proceedings immediately. It will specify the date on which the tenant is to vacate the property.

The court may waive the requirement for notice where it considers it just and equitable.

In the case of an introductory tenancy, a possession order may be obtained during the 12 months without having to rely on statutory reasons. Guidance recommends that the reason should be equivalent to those within grounds 1, 2, and 3. Generally, the resort to proceedings should be proportional and in accordance with principles of natural justice.

The court may order possession on compliance with the requisite notice and formality. The matter of the reasonableness of grounds is not a consideration in itself. However, the superior courts have held that the European Convention on Human Rights requires that the proceedings must be proportionate to the circumstances of the landlord and tenant. The tenancy order maintains introductory tenancy provided that proceedings are commenced during the initial period.