Lease surrenders

A surrender is a transfer by a tenant to its landlord. The lease 'merges' into the landlord's interest. Rent will cease accruing at the point of surrender, as will liability for the performance of covenants in the lease. However, in the absence of an express release, both parties remain liable for breaches arising prior to the surrender. A lease surrender requires mutual agreement between the landlord and the tenant.

There are two types of surrender—express and implied (occurs by operation of law):

1. •

   express—which is achieved formally, in writing, usually by deed, although this is not always necessary, see Practice Note: Lease surrenders

2. •

   implied—this occurs when the unequivocal conduct of both parties is inconsistent with the continuation of the tenancy, see Practice Note: Surrender by operation of law (implied surrender)