A sitting tenant is a tenant already in occupation of premises, especially when there is a change of owner. Sitting tenants can result from a decision not to evict an assured shorthold tenant following a change of owner or where there is a

protected tenancy A protected tenancy is a kind of tenancy in the United Kingdom under the Rent Act 1977,Astin, D. (2011) ''Housing Law: An Adviser's Handbook'', London: Legal Action Group, Chapter 3: Different Types of Tenancies which governs the law concerning re ...

. Where a landlord sells a property but decides not to evict a tenant the new landlord is said to 'step in the shoes' of the old landlord and the terms of the tenancy continue.

Protected tenants

Upon the death of a sitting tenant,

tenancy A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...

can pass to another family member. These tenancies were created in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

before 15 January 1989 under the Rent Act of 1977. Sitting tenants are also referred to as protected tenants, regulated tenants and rent act tenants. The

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...

lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

is responsible for maintaining the exterior of the property and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

for the property. The tenant is responsible for the interior of the property and paying the rent, which is below market and is set by the Rent Office. The rent can be reviewed every two years or when improvements, such as gas

central heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

double glazing Insulating glass (IG) consists of two or more glass window panes separated by a space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope. A window with insulating glass is commonly known as double glazing or a double-paned window, ...

or a new

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

bathroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically i ...

, have been made to the property. A landlord may not

evict Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgage ...

a sitting tenant who has a protected tenancy. In some instances the tenant may agree to move, in which case the protected

tenancy agreement A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

transfers with the tenant.

References

English property law Landlord–tenant law Tenancies in the United Kingdom {{UK-law-stub