It is unlikely to affect the assured shorthold tenancies (AST). Clearly, whether the head-lease is presently protected under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) or not, the head-lease can be brought to an end by surrender (LTA 1954, s 24(2)). This will require an express surrender (ie by deed) or a surrender by operation of law (eg tenant vacating and handing back the keys). By contrast, where the head-lease has at some point in time been protected under the LTA 1954, an agreement to surrender will be rendered void by LTA 1954, s 38 unless the requirements of LTA 1954, s 38A have been complied with (Note: where the LTA 1954

A guarantee is an agreement by way of contract where the guarantor agrees to perform the obligations of another. Guarantees are commonly seen in contracts and in leases, to the effect that if the principal does not comply with their obligations (for example to pay a loan, or in this scenario to comply with the lessee covenants under the lease of the third party), the guarantor will be liable. As a result, should the tenant default, the landlord is entitled to look to the guarantor (often to take on the lease, but otherwise

The parties to a business lease renewal are free to negotiate and agree terms for the grant of a new lease, which may include a term that any subtenancy granted be excluded from the security of tenure provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). In the absence of agreement, the terms will fall to be decided by the court. Where the parties cannot agree the other terms of the lease, the court will make an order as to those terms under LTA 1954, s 35 (other than duration and rent). Under LTA 1954, s 35 the court is required to have regard

A right of way acquired by prescription is not limited to the specific purposes for which it was used during the period of acquisition. As explained in Practice Note: Acquisition of easements by long use, the right is not limited to the precise ways in which it has been used, but may be used for analogous purposes or for other purposes which impose no greater burden on the servient tenement.

There is no implied right to re-enter commercial premises to carry out repairs in circumstances where the tenant is in breach of their repairing obligations. Therefore, the landlord can only use this remedy if there is an express right to gain access and undertake the repairs, often referred to as a ‘Jervis v Harris’ clause (Jervis v Harris). The express provision is likely to set out a process whereby: • the landlord must serve notice on the tenant, setting out the repairs needed and requiring that they be undertaken within a specified reasonable timescale (the timescale is sometimes dictated by the express terms of the lease) • in the

This Q&A raises the issue of the proper construction of a lease and also the application of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995). Although it is assumed that the lease is governed by the LT(C)A 1995, having been granted after it came into force on 1 January 1996, the position of older leases will be considered. Although increasingly rarely encountered in the commercial context, leases which were granted before 1996 are still frequently found in the case of residential properties. The first question is to identity the obligation on the part of the landlord under the lease, putting to one side for one moment the fact that there has been an assignment. In Rainy Sky SA v Kookmin Bank, Lord Clarke having reviewed the authorities said that

In this Q&A, the landlord has agreed to a reversionary lease for the current tenant, namely a lease that will take effect when the current existing lease has expired on 31 May 2017. The landlord has also been asked to agree to the current tenant transferring the benefit of the current lease (and, it would seem, the reversionary lease once that comes into effect) to another party (the ‘assignee’). Usually, a tenant (and their guarantor) are released from liability to the landlord when the lease is lawfully assigned to the assignee. However, the landlord can require the tenant to enter into an authorised guarantee agreement

Limitation period In the absence of any express provisions in the lease limiting the period within which a dilapidations claim may be made, if the lease has been executed as a deed, the limitation period for bringing a claim will be 12 years (Limitation Act 1980, s 8). See Practice Note: Limitation Act 1980—the principal limitation periods. Note that it is a common tenant amendment in leases to provide that the landlord may only recover its costs of preparing the schedule if it is served within a specified period from expiry of the lease. Please see below regarding the costs of any dilapidations

Deposits taken in relation to assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) must be protected by an authorised tenancy deposit scheme: section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004). Failure to comply with the requirements of HA 2004 may result in the landlord being unable to serve a notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to seek possession of the property. In relation to deposits taken on or after 6 April 2007 the tenant may also be entitled to apply for financial penalties. As explained in Practice Note: Tenancy deposit schemes, either a tenant or a ‘relevant person’ may apply to the

Partnerships and 1954 Act It is possible that the old lease could be regarded as continuing because one of the original partners is still occupying the premises for the purposes of a business. The ‘Companies, trusts and partnerships’ section within ‘Security of tenure’ of Hill and Redman's Law of Landlord and Tenant (paragraphs 104 and 105) provides that: 'The special provisions apply when the tenancy is held jointly by two or more persons and the business is carried

An underlease that is granted for as long, or longer, than the original lease operates as an assignment and not as an underlease. To avoid this, an underlease must be for at least one day less than the original lease. If an underlease takes effect as an assignment: • the tenant divests himself of the

It is usual practice to use a retrospective licence to alter when works have already been completed. See Precedent: Licence for alterations and associated drafting notes which could be adapted for