On behalf of the tenant, it may be argued that, the landlord can only serve on him the notice to vacate the premises after the transitional period, i.e., after 31 December 1999, since s. 11(1) of the Control of Rent (Repeal) Act 1997 only confers upon the landlord the right to vacant possession of the premises without payment of any compensation after the expiry of the transitional period.
Section 11(3)(a) of the Control of Rent (Repeal) Act 1997 states:
- (3) The notice referred to in sub-s. (2) (relating to the landlord exercising his right to vacant possession upon the expiry of the transitional period) ...
- (a) shall provide for a period of three months for the tenant to vacate the premises; ...
It is quite clear that the law requires the landlord to serve a notice to provide for a period of three months for the tenant to vacate the premises. This seems to suggest that it should not be given during the transitional period, since the landlord has no right to vacant possession before the expiry of the transitional period.
The tenant may argue that, if the landlord has no right to vacant possession of the premises at the material time, he is not entitled to serve the notice during the transitional period on the tenant to vacate the premises, bearing in mind that the tenant has been granted the statutory right by s. 6(1) of the Repeal Act to occupy the premises until such time when the transitional period expires.
Strictly speaking, the landlord is not in a position to provide for a period of three months for the tenant to vacate the premises during the transitional period, since the tenant is, as of right, legally entitled to occupy the premises without seeking the landlord’s indulgence during such transitional period.
Therefore, the question of the landlord providing for a period of three months for the tenant to vacate the premises during the transitional period does not arise at all.
So much for the argument in favor of the tenant.
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