Law digest: Landlord & tenant

Under the Housing Act 1988, an assured tenancy subject to a possession order ends only when the order is executed. Where a tenant does not comply with the terms of a suspended possession order

but makes late full payment, he is not prevented by s 85 of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985) from returning to the court for a variation. A secure tenant’s right to rely on a notice exercising his right to buy is not removed, but merely suspended, by s 121 of HA 1985 when a possession order is made; his right is reinstated when the order is discharged and the tenancy revived.