argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: U.K. - Tenant Fees Act - reduction of rates

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 (TFA) entered into force on the 1^st of June and applies to all short-term rentals and most residential leases, producing effects on the temporary rent reductions agreed following the pandemic of coronavirus. Specifically, we can observe how the reduction in the rent interacts with the limit set for deposits. The TFA introduced a five-week deposit limit, which now applies to almost all secured leases. In the event that the lessor agrees to the reduced rents because the lessee is in economic difficulties due to the pandemic and had requested the maximum deposit allowed at the time of stipulation of the lease, after the reduction he will hold a deposit higher than allowed. However, this does not necessarily mean that the lessor has violated the provisions of the TFA. In fact, it is necessary to refer to the agreements made during the reduction of the rent and the previous lease. If the lease is for a fixed term, which began before the 1^st of June 2019 and has not yet expired, there is likely to be no violation of the TFA. For example, if the reduction is agreed as a temporary measure and is not equivalent to a renewal of the lease, this does not constitute a violation since the deposit was received before the TFA came into force. Likewise, there will be no violation if a fixed-term lease commenced before June 1, 2019 has automatically become a statutory periodic tenancy after June 1, 2020, provided that the agreed reduction is not equivalent to a renewal of the lease. If a lease began on the 1^st of June 2019 (or after that date) or was renewed on the 1^st of June 2019, the TFA will be applied. However, a temporary reduction in rent is not a problem as long as the reduction does not amount to a renewal of the lease. This is because the part of the TFA that prohibits deposits exceeding five 5 weeks’ rent bases the calculation on the annual rent, calculated immediately after the last concession, renewal or continuation of the lease. So, if the lease was renewed with a rent reduction, the deposit would have to be reduced. If, on the contrary, the reduction is agreed during the validity of the lease, no deposit reduction is required. The reduction of the deposit does not necessarily imply the return to the tenant of the excess amount. The TFA allows, in fact, both to return the excess amounts to the lessee and to use these amounts for other payments due such as, for example, rent. A tenant with arrears can agree on a renewal of the lease at reduced rates, using the excess deposit to pay the arrears.