King v Jackson [1997]

A tenant who orally offered to leave the demised property after four weeks as she was unable to pay the rent had not surrendered the tenancy. She was able to claim damages for unlawful eviction as the landlady had locked her out of the property.

The owner of a house granted a six month tenancy of a flat contained on the first floor of the house. The written tenancy agreement was lost, but a copy of ‘what it probably was’ was an assured shorthold tenancy agreement for a term of six months.
Less than a month into the tenancy, the tenant found herself unable to pay the rent and orally gave the landlady four weeks notice to quit. The landlady accepted the notice, despite the informality, as both parties intended that it should be acted on. This did not constitute an express surrender of the tenancy as it was not in writing, and as the tenant did not deliver up possession of the property it could not constitute implied surrender. It was not a notice to quit either.
The rent was unpaid in respect of the next two weeks, and within two weeks the landlady had put a card up in a shop window advertising the flat as being available to let. The a prospective tenant was then shown the flat by the tenant, by the landlady’s arrangement, two weeks after the tenant had served notice.

Four days after this, the landlady wrote to the tenant saying that due to the fact that the tenant had not paid the last two weeks’ rent she had to ask her to leave the flat that day, and asked her to telephone her with her intentions for leaving and the removal of her furniture. The next day, the landlady and a man let themselves into the flat through a connecting door to the neighbouring shop, which they had no right to do, and told the tenant that another person was coming to view the flat that morning.  An hour and a half later, the landlady brought a man (with whom she was having a relationship) to see the flat and he said that he would not mind moving in. The tenant was asked when she was moving out, and she said the following week.  The man said that he was in a position to offer a month’s rent in advance that day, and the tenant said that she was not moving out. The man said he would move in with her.
The tenant left the flat shortly afterwards, not intending to leave permanently, and the landlady bolted the door. The door remained bolted until the tenant came back later in the day to collect her furniture, and the balance of her deposit after rent arrears had been paid. The man took possession of the flat a week later.
The tenant claimed damages for unlawful eviction, and the County Court judge awarded her £11, 000 for unlawful eviction or, alternatively, £1, 500 for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. The landlady appealed against this quantum of damages, contending that no more than £1, 500 should be awarded.

0n appeal:
HELD: The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, reducing the damages to £1, 500.

Citation: King v Jackson [1997] EWCA Civ 2118