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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Landlord_and_tenant
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1992-09-03
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In law, the relationship that exists when an
owner of land or buildings (the landlord)
gives to another (the tenant) the exclusive
right of occupation for a definite limited
period, whether it be a year, a term of
years, a week, or a month. When the terms of
the contract are embodied in a deed they are
said to be covenants, and the whole agreement
is termed a lease. The relationship is also
known as lessor and lessee. In the UK there
was traditionally freedom of contract between
landlord and tenant, but wartime shortage of
rented accommodation for lower-income groups
led to abuse by unscrupulous landlords and
from 1914 acts were passed affording
protection for tenants against eviction and
rent increases. The shortage was aggravated
by World War II and from 1939 Rent Acts were
passed greatly increasing the range of
dwellings so protected. Extensive decontrol
under the 1957 Rent Act led to hardship, and
further legislation followed, notably the
Rent Act of 1974, under which tenants of
furnished and unfurnished premises were given
equal security of tenure. The Housing Act of
1980 attempted to make it more attractive to
landlords to let property, while still
safeguarding the tenant, notably by creating
a new category of tenure - the protected
shorthold. Legislation aimed at stimulating
additional investment in the provision of
residential property for letting came into
force in 1989. In that year the private
sector held 8% of the total housing market.
The Housing Act 1988 brought about the most
significant changes in housing law for over
30 years. The act incorporates deregulation
in the private sector and a reduction in the
role of local authorities in providing
housing. Tenancies created after 1989 are no
longer subject to the `fair rent' provisions
introduced in 1965. `Assured tenancies' are
lettings at market value with less
opportunity for security of tenure than under
previous housing acts. The relationship is
known as lessor and lessee, and the lease
agreement gives both parties legal rights and
obligations. In the US, there is
traditionally a free market in rent prices.
Under some circumstances - a wartime housing
shortage, for example - the government may
impose rent controls. These have been applied
at the local level and used in instances,
such as in New York City, where the market
value of housing would have gone beyond the
reach of most wage-earners. Such controls
specify allowable increases in rents and may
have the unintended effect of reducing
available housing stock as landlords sell or
withdraw unprofitable units.