This question raises the effect of the grant of an underlease for the remainder of the term. Although it is assumed that this has happened with the consent of the landlord, if that be required, even an assignment in breach of covenant has the effect of vesting the term in the assignee. Where a lessee grants a sublease for the remainder of the term, it takes effect as an assignment rather than as a sub demise. The law looks to the substance of the transaction rather than the form of it. By purporting to grant a sublease, the lessee divests itself to the right to exclusive possession. As the Court of Appeal put it in Milmo v Carreras, where the lessee 'divests himself of everything that he has (which he must necessarily do if he is transferring

This Q&A raises the effect of a tenant vacating property before the end of a fixed-term tenancy agreement. A tenancy has the protections of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) under the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988), if and so long as the tenant (or in the case of a joint tenancy, at least one of them) occupies the dwelling house as an only or principal home. For as long as that state of affairs exists, the tenancy will have the protection of HA 1988. Once it stops, that protection is lost. Ceasing to occupy the dwelling house as an only or principal home does not of itself, however, bring the tenancy to an end. Once

By section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925), a right of forfeiture under a lease is not enforceable unless the landlord first serves notice (usually called a 'section 146 notice') on the tenant. There are requirements for the content of the notice. See Practice Note: Forfeiture of a lease. By LPA 1925, s 146(11), the requirement for notice does not apply to 're-entry or forfeiture or relief in case of non-payment of rent'. The issue raised by this question is whether failure to 'top up' a security deposit pursuant to a covenant to do so following a withdrawal by the landlord

Where a landlord has breached a repairing obligation in a lease, the tenant will be entitled to damages for the loss caused by the breach. The object of the damages is to put the tenant in the position they would have been in had the covenant been performed. See, for example, Langham Estate Management Ltd v Hardy. The tenant is likely to be subject to an obligation to allow the landlord access, which may be express or

For this Q&A, we have assumed that none of the transitional provisions apply to the code agreement (as to which, see Practice Note: New Electronic Communications Code—Code rights (at sections: Transitional provisions and Interaction between the new Code and LTA 1954 in respect of subsisting agreements). This question raises the ability of an ‘operator’ under the Electronic Communications Code (the ‘Code’) (set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3A to the Communications Act 2003) to terminate an agreement under Part 2 of the Code. Part

What is novation and step-in and why might it cause an issue to an existing collateral warranty? Construction lawyers generally refer to novation transferring one party’s rights and obligations under a contract to another party. However, the actual legal position is that on novation the original contract is extinguished and it is replaced with another, usually identical contract under which the new party takes up the rights and obligations of the party that has stepped out of the original contract, see Practice Note: Novation—why and how to novate a contract. This could cause an issue for a party (in this case a tenant) that has received a warranty before the novation took place because the underlying professional appointment to which the warranty relates is essentially extinguished. Whether that original warranty is enforceable will

A lease which falls within the security of tenure of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) will not end at expiry of the contractual term. It continues under LTA 1954, s 24. For the

A tenant can serve a second break notice where they believe the first notice may be invalid as set out in Practice Note: Break clauses and notices—service. The authority for this comes from the case of Allam & Co Ltd v Europa Poster Services Ltd, which concerned a landlord serving a notice to quit. The principles, however, would apply equally to the service by a tenant of a break notice. We have reproduced below the relevant chapter from Halsbury’s Laws of England Acts

A tenant of a long leasehold house and any attendant premises (eg a garden, garage, yard etc), who has owned the property for at least two years, has a statutory right to acquire the freehold (and any intermediate leasehold interests). The expression ‘tenant’ includes the personal representatives (PRs) of a deceased tenant who had acquired the

Pursuant to paragraph 30 of Schedule 3A Part 5 to the Communications Act 2003 (CA 2003) regarding the Electronic Communications Code (the Code), a Code agreement which complies with the requirements of that provision will not end on its ‘contractual expiry date’ but will continue until such time as it is terminated in accordance with CA 2003, Sch 3A Pt 5. In the meantime, an operator under a Code agreement retains the right to keep any equipment or apparatus previously installed on the relevant site and to exercise any other rights granted until the Code agreement is terminated. The termination provisions in CA 2003, Sch 3A Pt 5 allow a site provider who is party to a Code agreement to serve a termination notice on the operator under CA 2003, Sch 3A Pt 5, para 31. Such a notice must be in the prescribed

A business tenancy to which the provisions of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) apply continues, notwithstanding the end of the contractual term, until the service of a notice pursuant to LTA 1954, s 25 by the landlord or a request for a new tenancy pursuant to LTA 1954, s 26 by the tenant. In this case the landlord has purported to serve a section 25 notice but instead of addressing the notice to the legal tenant it was addressed to the tenant’s trading name. LTA 1954, s 25 sets out the requirements of such a notice. So far as relevant to this Q&A, they are that it must be served by the landlord on the tenant and that the notice must be in the form set out in the regulations.

It is assumed in this Q&A that the lease is to be granted to the individual trustees of the trust (up to the maximum four permitted to hold a legal interest save where the land is vested in trustees for charitable, ecclesiastical