england-and-wales landlord eviction
What are the consequences of evicting a licensee without giving them “reasonable notice”?
<p>Bob is a licensee (ie non-tenant occupier). Because he isn’t a tenant, a possession order is not legally required to evict him.</p>
<p>Instead, he may be peaceably evicted upon “reasonable notice.” Reasonable notice depends on the circumstances of each case, but often equates to a single rental period.</p>
<p>Suppose he is evicted without any notice, for example comes home one day to find someone else living in his place, without any notice or explanation.</p>
<p>If he was a tenant, he would have a host of civil remedies available to him in this situation, but does the situation differ since he is not? And, if so, how?</p>

<p>As this is a residential licence, Bob is protected by <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/43/section/1?timeline=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 1</a> Protection from Eviction Act 1977:</p>
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<p>(2) If any person unlawfully deprives the residential occupier of any premises of his occupation of the premises or any part thereof, or attempts to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence unless he proves that he believed, and had reasonable cause to believe, that the residential occupier had ceased to reside in the premises.</p>
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<p>For clarity:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A license agreement provides a person to use or occupy property without acquiring the rights of a tenant. Because of this, granting a license rather than a tenancy may seem appealing to landlords, however, simply labelling an agreement as a license does not make it a license.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>A license agreement can be terminated by the serving of a notice to quit which in most cases must provide no less than 28 days notice<sup>1</sup>. However, where there is a breach of the agreement by the licensee, the agreement may provide for less than 28 days notice to be given.</p>
<p><sup>1</sup><a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/43/section/5?timeline=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 5(1A)</a></p>
<p><a href="https://landlordadvice.co.uk/helpful-information/eviction/license-agreement/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Source</em></a></p>
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