Let's explore the legal meaning of the expression 'Surrender of Tenancy' and the procedures that are involved with it, writes Tony Booth .

Surrender is the process through which a tenant agrees to relinquish legal possession of a property and return it to the landlord.

It involves giving up all tenancy rights from the point of surrender, in mutual agreement with the landlord.

However, surrender does not negate the prior liabilities of the tenant, for example, to pay rent up to and including the date on which tenancy ends. This all seems simple enough at face value; but unfortunately there are various complications to the process, which are determined by the circumstances under which surrender occurs.

Express surrender