The Act enables the landlord to oppose renewal where the tenant is in breach of the covenants (obligations) in the lease. It also gives the landlord very limited grounds to oppose renewal where the tenant is not “at fault”: for example where the landlord requires the premises for his/her own use. Furthermore, you will not have any rights to renew your tenancy if you have entered into a valid agreement with your landlord to exclude security of tenure. For such an agreement to be valid, the following steps must normally have been followed:
 
• leases before 1 June 2004: the agreement must have been authorised by the court on the joint application of the landlord and tenant, before the lease was agreed;
 
• leases on or after 1 June 2004: the tenant must receive a warning notice about the implications of agreeing to give up renewal rights, normally at least 14 days before agreeing to the lease (or entering into an earlier legally binding agreement to take on a lease). The tenant must also sign a declaration that he or she has read the notice and has accepted its consequences. In cases where 14 days’ notice has not been given, this must be a “statutory declaration” made before an independent solicitor.
 
Giving up renewal rights gives the landlord a right to possession when the lease expires. You will have no statutory rights to compensation when you leave the tenancy.