Surrender

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Practice notes

What happens to an underlease on termination of the lease?

The general common law principle is that when a lease comes to an end any underlease automatically terminates.Consensual termination—surrender and...

30th Oct

Practice notes

New Electronic Communications Code—Code rights

The new CodeThis Practice Note sets out the extent of the new Code rights, how they arise, ie by agreement made between the parties or by agreement...

29th Oct

Practice notes

Recovering rent arrears

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Practice notes

Dilapidations claims at the end of the term

Once a lease has ended, the landlord can no longer forfeit or rely on a Jervis v Harris clause. At that stage, damages are the only available remedy...

9th Oct

Practice notes

Periodic tenancies

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

2nd Oct

In-house

Practice notes

Trespass—remedies

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

30th Sep

In-house

Practice notes

LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination

STOP PRESS: A 12-month pilot scheme where unopposed lease renewals issued in the Central London County Court (CLCC) are transferred to the First-tier...

26th Sep

COVID-19

In-house

Practice notes

Tenancy deposit schemes

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Claiming relief from forfeiture when breach is rent arrears

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Dealing with goods left behind at lease end or following sale of property

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Time limits and extension of statutory period under LTA 1954

Deadline for application to courtThe deadline for the landlord or tenant to make an application to the court for the grant of a new tenancy, or for...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Residential service charges—disputes and procedures

This Practice Note explains the procedure for handling some of the most common residential service charge disputes under the Landlord and Tenant Act...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Statutory compensation under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954

Statutory compensation—which grounds are compensatable?Under section 37 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), the tenant is entitled to...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Contracting out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954—procedures, timing and pitfalls

Why contract out?The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) gave tenants of business premises security of tenure—in other words, the right to stay on...

25th Sep

In-house

Practice notes

Serving notices—potential issues

This Practice Note addresses some of the common issues encountered when serving a break notice. A break notice is a contractual notice....

25th Sep

Most recent Surrender content

Practice notes

Accepting a surrender from an insolvent tenant

Accepting a surrender can be the quickest way for a landlord to regain possession of the premises from an insolvent tenant. It circumvents the extra...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Surrender by operation of law

A surrender by operation of law occurs when the unequivocal conduct of both parties is inconsistent with the continuation of the tenancy. This is...

25th Sep

Practice notes

1954 Act—surrender of business tenancies

When LTA 1954 applies on surrender—agreements to surrenderUnder section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), if a lease is not...

25th Sep

Precedents

Statutory declaration in support of an application to HM Land Registry to remove reference to a lease surrendered by operation of law

I [insert name] of [address], do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows:1[I have been employed by [name of owner] (‘the Owner’) of...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Vacant possession strategy for redevelopment

Coronavirus (COVID-19): During the current pandemic, legislation and changes to practice and procedure in the courts and tribunals have been...

Produced in partnership with Jill Carey of Freeths 26th Sep

Precedents

Deed of surrender

Date [insert date of surrender]Parties1[insert name of Landlord] of [insert address] [incorporated in England and Wales with company registration...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Lease surrenders

What is a lease surrender?A lease surrender is a mutual agreement between the landlord and the tenant that the lease will determine before the end of...

26th Sep

Q&As

The landlord agreed to a tenant terminating a 12–month fixed term residential tenancy one month early. In reliance on that the tenant paid a non-refundable deposit in respect of a new tenancy. The landlord then reneged on their agreement. The tenant accordingly paid additional rent for a period after the early termination date, while reserving their rights. Can the tenant reclaim the additional rent?

An agreement for early termination of a fixed term tenancy is an agreement to surrender. An agreement to surrender a tenancy is a contract for the...

28th Sep

Q&As

A tenant company remains in occupation of commercial premises for a number of years after its contracted-out lease expires. It therefore acquires a protected periodic business tenancy. The company is then dissolved but the directors remain in occupation of the premises, operating their business as a sole trader, and continue to pay rent to the landlord. The landlord wants to regularise matters and complete a new contracted-out lease with the sole trader tenant. Is a deed of surrender required or will completion of a new lease bring the periodic tenancy to an end by operation of law?

A surrender by operation of law takes place when the unequivocal conduct of both parties is inconsistent with the continuation of the lease. The grant...

28th Sep

Q&As

In relation to a section 5D LTA 1987 notice, can a property be purchased via a Newco and then have each lease varied to extend the term and change the rent from a peppercorn to a nominal premium? Is there any issue with such change being agreed by the freehold owning company following its exercise of the right of first refusal, or would this conflict with its obligations to do anything contrary to the best interests of the company?

Surrender and re-grantThe first issue to consider is whether the variation will amount to a surrender and re-grant. For further information in this...

28th Sep

Q&As

If a deed of surrender fails on a technicality, but the parties act as if a surrender has taken place and so there is a surrender by operation of law, would this supersede a break notice that takes effect on the same date? Or, if a deed of surrender has failed on a technicality, will the position fall to the break notice as opposed to a potential surrender by operation of law on the same day?

The effect of a surrender of lease is that the term is extinguished by absorption into the reversionary interest and thus, ceases to exist. Ordinarily...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 28th Sep

Q&As

The superior lease is being surrendered by a deed of surrender between the freeholder and the superior landlord. Contemporaneously, the sub-lease is being surrendered by operation of law by a party taking an assignment of the sub-lease and the same party simultaneously being granted a new sub-lease by the superior landlord. Will the assignment of an unregistered sub-lease and grant of a new sub-lease act as surrender by operation of law? How should a new sub-tenant and a sub-tenant’s mortgagee seek protection of their interests at HM Land Registry? What HM Land Registry searches should be undertaken? If the freehold is subject to a charge will mortgagee consent be required for (i) the surrender and re-grant of the superior lease; and (ii) the grant of the new sub-lease?

A lease may be surrendered in one of two ways: expressly or by operation of law. As for express surrender, as a disposal of interest in land, s...

28th Sep

Q&As

A company is the undertenant of a property by virtue of an underlease from the 1980s. The undertenant entered into a licence with the superior landlord to meet the obligations in the superior lease. The superior lease has subsequently been determined and no copy is available and there are no records as to the grounds for determination. Is the superior landlord required to honour the terms of the underlease? Would the superior landlord be required to meet the landlord's obligation under the underlease?

Whether or not an underlease survives determination of a headlease, and if so, what the superior landlord’s obligations are in respect of that...

28th Sep

Q&As

Can a residential tenancy be surrendered with one party paying a surrender premium to the other?

There is nothing to prevent the parties agreeing a surrender of a residential tenancy. A surrender is a voluntary act of the parties whereby, with the...

28th Sep

Q&As

Where Company A holds a concurrent lease of an area of a building that is to be subject to a deed of surrender between Company A and Company B, should the freeholder be joined in as a party to the deed of surrender? There is no restriction on surrendering or assignment in the immediate lease of the area.

In this scenario, it appears that Company A has a concurrent lease of the surrender area. You may wish to review Practice Note which deals with...

28th Sep

Q&As

Does a mortgage come to an end automatically when a lease is terminated by a break notice, and if so is lender’s consent needed to close the registered title?

There will be an automatic determination of a subtenancy at common law on the termination of a head tenancy pursuant to a notice to quit or a break...

28th Sep

Q&As

A guarantor guaranteed the obligations of the original tenant in an ‘old’ lease. The lease was later assigned and no guarantor was provided on assignment. If the parties wish to surrender the lease, does the guarantor need to be party to the surrender?

We cannot locate any authority providing that a current (or previous) guarantor needs to be a party to a surrender for the surrender to...

28th Sep

Q&As

Is VAT payable on a ‘reverse premium’ paid by a tenant on surrender? Does it matter if the landlord has elected to waive the exemption?

Where a tenant pays the landlord to take back a lease, the payment is an exempt supply (subject to the option to tax—Value Added Tax Act 1994,...

28th Sep

Q&As

A landlord and tenant enter into a deed of surrender of a registered lease. The reversion is unregistered. If the deed of surrender is not registered at HM Land Registry, is the deed of surrender still legally effective? Or can the lease still be enforced against the tenant?

This exact point does not appear to have been decided, but the answer seems obviouse that the covenants should cease to be enforceable. This is...

Produced in partnership with Nic Taggart of Landmark Chambers 28th Sep

Q&As

What would be the effect of a superior landlord granting a new lease directly to a subtenant, where an intermediate lease with several years of the term left to run remains in place?

Surrender by operation of lawFor a surrender by operation of law to take place, there must be unequivocal conduct by both parties to the lease which...

28th Sep