Consideration of Bill, as amended in the Public Bill Committee
New Clause 13
Prohibition of rent in advance after lease entered into (except initial rent)
“In the 1988 Act, after section 4A (inserted by section 1 of this Act) insert—
‘4B Assured tenancy: prohibition of rent in advance (except initial rent)
(1) Terms of an assured tenancy which provide for when rent is due are of no effect so far as they provide for rent to be due in advance.
(2) But subsection (1) does not apply—
(a) to an excepted tenancy, or
(b) to terms of any other assured tenancy so far as they provide for initial rent to be due during the permitted pre-tenancy period.
(3) Where terms of an assured tenancy providing for when the rent for a rent period is due are of no effect by virtue of this section, the tenancy has effect as if it provided for the rent for that rent period to be due on the substitute rent day for that rent period.
(4) In a case where the terms of the tenancy (after taking account of section 4A) are such that—
(a) one or more of the periods of the tenancy will be compliant rent periods, and
(b) the compliant rent periods have a regular pattern, the regular rent day which falls during a rent period is the “substitute rent day” for the rent period.
(5) In any other case, the first day of a rent period is the “substitute rent day” for the rent period.
(6) The compliant rent periods of a tenancy “have a regular pattern” if those periods meet the following two conditions—
(a) all of the compliant rent periods will be the same length (and, for this purpose, all periods of one month are the same length);
(b) the rent for all of the compliant periods will be due—
(i) on the same day during each of the periods (such as the same day of the week in a weekly period or the same date in the month in a monthly period), or
(ii) on the same description of day during each of the periods (such as the last day, or first weekday, of a period);