Opposing renewal under ground (f)—Franses applied and the relevance of a threatened injunction (London Kendal Street No3 Ltd v Daejan Investments Ltd)

Article summary

Property Disputes analysis: Towards the end of last year, the Supreme Court decision in S Franses Ltd v Cavendish Hotels (London) Ltd caused quite a stir. In that case, a landlord devised a scheme of works with no practical value solely to obtain possession of valuable space. The Supreme Court ruled that to oppose a statutory lease renewal under section 30(1)(f) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (the redevelopment ground), a landlord’s intention to do the works in question cannot be conditional on whether its tenant chooses to seek a new lease. The acid test is whether the landlord would do the works if the tenant left voluntarily. Although only a County Court decision, this case is the first reported decision in which a court has had to apply the Franses test. Arguments based both on the Franses test and on the possibility of other tenants in the...