Unless the parties to the lease agree otherwise and serve the relevant notices excluding its protection, a tenant who occupies premises for the purposes of a business enjoys security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). In the absence of a right to forfeit the lease on the part of the landlord for breach of covenant by the tenant, the right to occupy can only be brought to an end by the service of a notice in accordance with the LTA 1954 even once the contractual term has expired. Even then, the tenant is entitled to apply to the court for a new lease, albeit that the landlord can oppose this on proof of any of eight

This question raises the effect of a failure on the part of the tenant to commence proceedings for a new tenancy or to agree a new tenancy before the expiry of a notice served under section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). A tenancy which has the protection of LTA 1954 cannot come to an end other than in accordance with the terms of LTA 1954 (or service of notice to quit or surrender by the tenant or the exercise of a right of forfeiture on the part of the landlord) (LTA 1954, s 24(1), (2)). The way in which a landlord can bring a tenancy to an end under the terms of LTA 1954 is to serve notice under LTA 1954, s 25. This is a notice in the prescribed form specifying the date at

Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) grants security of tenure to business tenants unless its provisions are contracted out. This means that a business lease will not expire by effluxion of time but will be continued as a statutory tenancy unless and until brought to an end in accordance with the provisions of LTA 1954 or when a new lease is granted by the court on the application of either the landlord or the tenant or when the lease is determined by surrender or forfeiture. A landlord is entitled to terminate a business tenancy to which LTA 1954, Part II applies by serving a notice in accordance with section

Section 29A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) provides that the time limit for either party to apply to the court for a new lease is: • the date specified in either the landlord’s LTA 1954, s 25 notice, or • the day before the commencement date of the new tenancy specified in the tenant’s LTA 1954, s 26 request This is known as the 'statutory period'. If an application to court is not made by the landlord or tenant before expiry of the statutory period, the tenant will lose the right to a renewal lease under the LTA 1954. Following the LTA 1954, s 25 notice or the LTA 1954, s 26 notice being served, but before the end of the statutory

What are the formality requirements for assigning a commercial lease? There are three main formalities for assigning a lease. First, the contract for the assignment of a lease needs to be made in writing, signed, incorporating all the terms which the parties have expressly agreed in one document or, if contracts are exchanged, in each document (section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (LP(MP)A 1989). Second, the assignment of a lease must be made by way of a deed, even if the lease itself was created orally (section 53 of the Law of Property Act 1925; Crago v Julian. Third, if the lease being assigned is a registered lease, the assignment must be completed by registering it at HM Land Registry (section 27(1)(a) of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002). Equally, if

Under section 40B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), if a person served with a notice under LTA 1954, s 40 fails to comply with their duty to provide the information requested, they may be ‘…made the subject of civil proceedings for breach of statutory duty; and in any such proceedings a court may order that person to comply with that duty and may make an award of damages’. See: Duties of tenants and landlords to give information to each other; in general: Halsbury's Laws of England [1595]. Breach of statutory duty is an independent tort recognised at common law, in respect of which the

You are correct that the tenant cannot serve a valid section 26 request for a new lease where its tenancy was granted for a fixed term of a year or less, see section 26(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). The same applies if the tenancy is periodic. A request may be made, however, where the tenancy was granted for

It is assumed that the intermediate tenancy is still subsisting and a sub-tenancy has been granted in breach of covenant. If it is, then the landlord cannot directly remove the sub-tenant. The landlord would need to determine the intermediate tenancy or obtain an order for the tenant to remove its sub-tenant (see the response to question in Q&A: A tenant of a property which comprises a

A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) is a statutory contract between the company and its creditors and is used by a company in financial difficulty to restructure its debts. If the CVA receives the requisite 75% majority of the vote of creditors present in person or by proxy and voting on the proposal, and is not opposed by more than 50% of independent creditors, it will be binding on all creditors. Even if a landlord does not receive notice of the CVA proposal or votes against it, as long as

Forfeiture is a contractual right allowing a landlord to bring a tenancy to an end as a result of a breach of the tenancy agreement. It can be effected by peaceable re-entry into the premises or by the commencement of court proceedings. The tenant will have the right to seek relief from forfeiture. It is not stated within this Q&A whether the relevant lease is commercial or residential. In respect of commercial tenancies, forfeiture is not available without first serving a notice pursuant to

No unilateral withdrawal or waiver A notice, once served, cannot be unilaterally withdrawn, nor can the right to enforce it be unilaterally waived either expressly, or by implication. However, a notice can be withdrawn or the right to enforce it waived

When a tenant is entitled to claim a new lease under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), costs will likely be incurred both in any litigation and also in preparing a new lease which might ultimately be granted without the need for a contested hearing. This question raises the extent to which the landlord can require the tenant to meet the costs which it incurs in preparing the new lease following a discontinuance for whatever reason. A tenant with the protection of LTA 1954, Pt II will lose the right to claim a new tenancy unless proceedings are commenced within the time limits set imposed by LTA 1954, s 29A, although they can be extended