Q&As
My client granted a lease for a term of 20 years, within the protection of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Sometime after expiry of the contractual term, the tenant served a section 26 notice. The landlord proposed new terms and an extension of time to negotiate the lease was agreed between the parties. At this stage the tenant vacated the property and did not hand over the keys. Can the landlord serve a Schedule of Dilapidations on the tenant?
Published on: 23 June 2016
For the purposes of this Q&A we have assumed that the tenant was entitled to serve the notice, and also that it was validly served.
Service of a section 26 request will not oblige the tenant to take the lease. The section 26 request is simply the trigger to initiate the renewal process. A tenant does not need to have any genuine intention to take a new lease.
It would appear that it is not possible for a tenant unilaterally to withdraw a section 26 notice request (see Meah v Sector Properties Ltd). However,
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