I seem to remember there was a thread about renting. Is there an issue with the length of the tenancy? I cannot find the link.

If the landlord does not specify the time in the contract then the tenant can stay for 5 years if they want to.

I seem to remember that after 11 months, the tenant has ' legal rights' i.e. he can move in his mother, his grandmother, his dog, his cat etc and there is nothing you can do to stop him!

Really? Someone has offered us a minimum twelve month let!!!!

Yippee.

(But as we own property in UK which we will let out, that might be a bit hypocritical).

So it sounds as though it is the landlord who has to be careful, rather than the tenant?

Well minimum 12 months sounds good on the face of it ...
But what if you don't like the property, or the area?
I'd rather start with 3 months and then extend ...

There is bound to be someone on here who knows the exact legal position regarding long tenancies ...

I don`t think it even has to be 11 months, on the other thread I posted a legal bit about it out of the Surinenglish on tenants rights.
With your contract you could stay longer no problem, afaik the only way they could remove you is to get a court order that they need to move in themselves and find you something similar, or if you don`t pay the rent.

Normally, contracts are for 11/12 months. After that they have the right to stay for another 4 years (making 5 in total) unless they have broken the contract in some way. Provided they are good tennants for the first year, the landlord MUST allow them to stay for a further 4 if they want.

There are also VERY strict rules about rent increases - they can NOT be increased for the first year and any increase then must be in line with the authorities.

I think a landlord can add a clause entitling him to get the property back if he needs it for his own use.

I don't know how easy it is to mis-use this as a get-out.

Yes, they have to need it for their own accommodation.

Thanks all. I am going to pass it to SWMBO who knows ALL about these things.
Really thanks.