Daughter remaining in property after tenant moves?

Hi Philip
If the daughter has never been a tenant and the sole tenant has moved out, you can serve a Notice to Quit on the tenant. This is because an assured shorthold tenancy is a species of assured tenancy as described in s.1 of the Housing Act 1988. It is a pre-requisite of such a tenancy that the tenant resides in the property as their “only or principal home”. As soon as they cease to do so, the tenancy loses its “assured status” and becomes a pure contractual tenancy, which can be terminated by a Notice to Quit, giving at least 28 days’ notice and expiring on a last day of a period of the tenancy. There are of course qualifications to that basic legal position and this is not intended as formal legal advice. You should seek advice from a solicitor who specialises in this area. I wish you luck.

I agree with the above, but the mother could move back in to easily defeat the NTQ. Even though absent, the mother is still liable for the care of the property, but I guess the reality is that it will be down to someone who has never lived alone before and may have little idea about managing the responsibility. You should check the insurance position too.

Spot on David – that’s one of the qualifications and even if the tenant has not physically returned prior to expiry of the NTQ, the validity of the Notice might well turn on whether there was an intention to do so (applying the test in Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Islington v Boyle and another [2011] EWCA 1450) – an NTQ should not be the only notice served etc.

I would try to talk to the mother and explain the situation that if she has moved out then the tenancy is ending. Perhaps see if she is happy to be a guarantor for her daughter to take up a new tenancy.

Reply to the comment left by Sam Addison at 05/01/2021 – 16:54
” if she has moved out then the tenancy is ending”

That is not the case. The tenancy continues.