(1)Subject to subsection (2) [F1and section 4(1A)], a person is for the purposes of this Part the landlord in relation to any premises consisting of the whole or part of a building if he is—
(a)the immediate landlord of the qualifying tenants of the flats contained in those premises, or
(b)where any of those tenants is a statutory tenant, the person who, apart from the statutory tenancy, would be entitled to possession of the flat in question.
(2)Where the person who is, in accordance with subsection (1), the landlord in relation to any such premises for the purposes of this Part (“the immediate landlord”) is himself a tenant of those premises under a tenancy which is either—
(a)a tenancy for a term of less than seven years, or
(b)a tenancy for a longer term but terminable within the first seven years at the option of the person who is the landlord under that tenancy (“the superior landlord”),
the superior landlord shall also be regarded as the landlord in relation to those premises for the purposes of this Part and, if the superior landlord is himself a tenant of those premises under a tenancy falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above, the person who is the landlord under that tenancy shall also be so regarded (and so on).
Textual Amendments
F1Words inserted by Housing Act 1988 (c. 50, SIF 75:1), s. 119, Sch. 13 para. 1