A company voluntary vrrangement (CVA) is a statutory rescue procedure under Part I of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). CVAs are a popular mechanism for tenants seeking to reduce their liability under leases, particularly in the retail sector where tenants may have multiple leased premises, some of which are under-performing while others remain profitable. The contractual moratorium typically found in a CVA prevents a landlord from forfeiting a lease for breaches of tenant covenants, including any insolvency event arising out of the CVA proposal, other than the obligation to pay the compromised rents under the CVA. Provided the proposed CVA treats all

When opposing the grant of a new lease under section 30(1)(f) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the landlord must show its intention to do the relevant works at the date of the hearing: Betty’s Cafés v Phillips Furniture Stores. Where the landlord’s interest is to be sold, if the buyer is registered by the time of the hearing, they may be

Section 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (LTA 1987) provides that a person is the landlord for the purposes of LTA 1987 if they are: ‘(a) the immediate landlord of the qualifying tenants of the flats contained in those premises, or (b) where any of those tenants is a statutory tenant, the person who, apart from the statutory tenancy, would be entitled

A lease is a contract between parties which provides for rights and obligations arising out of the occupation by the tenant of property owned by the landlord. The lease must be for a defined term or a periodic term and comes to an end only upon its expiration by effluxion of time (or, in some circumstances, a later period specified by statute, such as the continuation by virtue of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 of business tenancies that are not contracted out), or where validly terminated by one or other of the parties,

Leases granted for more than seven years, among other transactions, are required to be registered at HM Land Registry. The tenant is responsible for registering the estate, and it will not take effect in law until registered (sections 6 and 27 of the Land Registration Act 2002). The tenant's title will therefore be equitable only. However, failure to register is unlikely to affect the landlord's ability to enforce the tenant covenants. The original parties will be bound in contract.

Grounds of opposition to a new business tenancy Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) makes provision in relation to business tenancies. LTA 1954, s 25 provides that a landlord of a business tenancy may only terminate the tenancy by giving notice to the tenant in the prescribed form. LTA 1954, s 25 sets out various formal requirements with which such a notice must comply. One such requirement is set out in LTA 1954, s 25(7): ‘A notice under this section which states that the landlord is opposed to the grant of a new tenancy to the tenant shall not have effect unless it also specifies one or more of the grounds specified in section 30(1) of this Act as the ground or grounds for his opposition.’ LTA 1954, s 30 sets out

The moratorium is set out in paragraph 43 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 as follows: ‘Moratorium on other legal process 43(1) This paragraph applies to a company in administration. (2) No step may be taken to enforce security over the company’s property except— (a) with the consent of the administrator, or (b) with the permission of the court. (3) No step may be taken to repossess goods in the company’s possession under a hire-purchase agreement except— (a) with the consent of the administrator, or (b) with the permission of the court. (4) A landlord may not exercise a right of forfeiture by peaceable re-entry in relation to premises let to the company except— (a) with the consent of the administrator, or (b) with the permission of the court. (5) In Scotland, a landlord may not exercise a right of irritancy in relation to premises

In answering your query, we have assumed that the section 25 notice was served after the right to forfeit arose; however, if it was served prior to this then it may be that continuing any lease renewal procedure will waive the right to forfeit. It might be possible for the landlord to protect its position in the proceedings without prejudice to the right to forfeit, but this would depend on the specific facts of the case. Where a tenant, in breach of its covenants, fails to make rental payments in accordance with the terms of the lease, the landlord is entitled to forfeit the lease. A landlord can usually exercise a right of forfeiture when a tenant has breached its lease covenants, whether by an act or by an omission

Forfeiture of an LTA 1954 lease Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) makes provision for certain commercial tenants to enjoy a level of security of tenure. LTA 1954, s 24(1) enshrines this security of tenure by stipulating that a tenancy which falls within LTA 1954, Pt II can only be terminated by the processes provided for by that part of the LTA 1954. However, LTA 1954, s 24(2) makes clear that a LTA 1954 tenancy can still be brought to an end by forfeiture: ‘The last foregoing subsection shall not prevent the coming to an end of a tenancy by notice to quit given by the tenant, by

A tenant who fails to pay the rent will ordinarily find that the landlord forfeits the lease as a result, assuming there is a clause in the lease allowing re-entry in such circumstances. Where that tenant has been adjudged bankrupt a trustee in bankruptcy will be appointed and the effect of the bankruptcy order is to vest the property of the bankrupt in the trustee upon their appointment: section 306 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). The vesting is automatic and takes place without conveyance or assignment so is not of itself a breach of any provision

A company is dissolved (or deemed dissolved) following liquidation, administration, or striking off of its name from the register by the Registrar of Companies. When a company is dissolved, it ceases to have any existence. On dissolution, all property and rights vested in, or held on trust for the company, immediately before dissolution are deemed to be bona vacantia and vest in the Crown (or in the Duchy of Lancaster or Duke of Cornwall if the company’s registered office was in Lancaster or Cornwall respectively). This includes leasehold property, but not property held by the company on trust for any other person: section 1012(1)

Forfeiture is a landlord’s right to bring a lease to an end as a result of a tenant’s breach. A landlord may only end the tenancy agreement by forfeiture if there: • is an express right in the lease, ie the tenancy agreement contains a forfeiture clause which allows the landlord to forfeit in respect of the tenant's alleged breach. For example, the lease may provide that the landlord is entitled to forfeit the lease for failure to pay rent within 14 or 21 days of the due date, or on the