This is a question to the blog clinic from Paul, who is a tenant in England.
We moved into a property five months ago. The advert for the house stated ‘long term let’ and I confirmed it verbally with the agent.
The initial term was for 6 months, and we assumed it would have carried on after that. After 3 months the agent informed us that the landlady was thinking of selling.
The agent refused to let me have any of the landlady’s contact details. After several weeks they finally gave us her email address and I contacted her to say how disappointed we were only for her to tell us that she told the agent that it was to be a short-term let for 6 months
Answer
If you signed a tenancy agreement for six months, then under the current law, the landlord is entitled to require you to vacate after the fixed term has ended. If you fail to do so, then they can still use the no-fault section 21 procedure to evict you.
Even though you were told this was to be a long-term let, the landlord is entitled to require you to leave. Under the terms of your tenancy agreement, all the landlord has actually contracted for is the six-month fixed term.
Although if you did something in reliance on this, which now puts you in a difficult situation moving out, you may have a defence to a possession claim. For example, if you lost an alternative long-term property, and the agents were aware of this. This would be difficult, though, unless you had clear evidence.
However, I would suggest you put in a complaint about the agents to their Property Redress Scheme , as they were clearly misrepresenting the property when it was let to you. You may be awarded some compensation.
Note that once the Renters Rights Act has come into force (on 1 May 2026) the situation will be different. Although there is a ground for possession when the landlord wants to sell, this cannot be used during the first 12 months of the tenancy, and the landlord will have to give you 4 months’ notice in writing using the prescribed form.
So, under the new legislation, tenants will have far greater stability, at least during the first year of their tenancy.
Your right to the landlord’s contact details
I’m glad that the agents finally gave you your landlord’s contact details.
Note that they are required to do this by law under section 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 – failure to do this is a criminal offence.
However, this could still be an additional ground for complaint to their Property Redress Scheme.
