The answer to this question depends on the wording of the covenant prohibiting assignment without consent. If the covenant is worded so that the only pre-requisite to grant a licence to assign is a deed of covenant, then the landlord cannot require other conditions on assignment. If, however, the covenant is worded so that it is a pre-condition that such a

The rule against derogation from grant applies to the grant of easements and rights granted for a term of years. The principle is that someone who agrees to confer a particular benefit on another must not do anything which substantially deprives the other of the enjoyment of that benefit. That would be to ‘take away with one hand what is given with the other’. See Practice Note: Derogation from grant. We are not

For the purpose of this Q&A we assume that the tenant is a long leaseholder of a flat. Sinking funds are very useful tools for the landlord in paying for capital expenditure. If managed correctly, they can also be of benefit/value to the tenant because it will spread the cost of capital expenditure rather than a nasty large bill being demanded when the works are due to be carried out. Often well-advised purchasers will ask whether there is a reserve or

See Practice Note: Negotiation guide—insurance clauses—commercial leases. In Beacon Carpets v Kirby, the landlord was obliged to insure but was unable to obtain planning permission for the reinstatement of the premises. The Court

This Q&A assumes that the lease was disclaimed by a liquidator for the insolvent tenant. When a lease is disclaimed, the rights, interests and liabilities of the insolvent company end, but the disclaimer does not affect the rights or liabilities of any other person (except so far as is necessary for the purpose of releasing the company from any liability) (section 178(4) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986)). Accordingly, where there is a mortgage the lease is deemed to continue to exist in order to give effect to the mortgagee's rights. However, while the landlord is not entitled to treat the lease as ended, it is likely that the tenant

If a lease does not contain any express restriction on use, the tenant can use the premises for any lawful purpose which he chooses. In this Q&A, the lease contains a covenant that the premises can only be used as a dwellinghouse in the occupation of a single family. In fact, it is much more likely that the covenant would have been phrased as a negative covenant ie not to use the premises save as a single private residence only. The breach of such a covenant will be a continuing breach ie the covenant is broken from day-to-day so long as the prohibited use continues. This is in distinction to a breach of a covenant against subletting, which is a once and for all breach.

Breach of covenant Consideration will need to be given to which covenant(s) in the lease have been breached by the tenant subletting to a person who is not over 55 and is causing a nuisance. The likely clauses will be the: • user covenant • alienation covenant • tenant’s covenant not to cause nuisance—this covenant is based on the tort of private nuisance—interference with the use/enjoyment of land causing injury (some private nuisance may also give rise to a statutory nuisance) in respect of which to determine accountability for an alleged nuisance, the court will look at the nature of the defendant’s interference (intentional, negligent or reckless for instance), the extent of the interference (it must be substantial), and the reasonableness of the defendant’s conduct Assuming that there has been a breach of one or more of these covenants, the landlord will have

Status of the occupier The status of the occupier will come down to the lease vs licence issue. For further information on this issue see Distinction between lease and licence: Hill and Redman's Law of Landlord and Tenant (Division A), 290. We note that the occupier is a 'life tenant' of the trust. Accordingly, we assume that their life tenancy relates to the trust rather than the terms of their occupation of the premises. However, if the trustees have also purported to provide the occupier

Law360: Demonstrating both increased cross-border collaboration and the adoption of novel theories of cartel violations, the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), together with the US competition agencies, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, issued a joint statement on 23 July 2024 on competition in generative artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models and AI products.

Law360: Since they were established with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, the whistleblower programs at the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission have emerged as the gold standard for whistleblower award programs.

Law360, Expert analysis: The Financial Ombudsman Service, or FOS, periodically publishes statistics on complaints it has received about financial services and products provided by UK regulated firms, with the last publication appearing on 29 October 2025. Emma Radmore, legal director and Laura Wiles, solicitor; both at Womble Bond Dickinson discuss how subsequent measures, alongside broader consultations on updating the redress framework, have resulted in notable shifts in complaint volumes and trends, particularly a marked reduction in low-quality referrals from professional representatives.

Immigration analysis: Gary McIndoe, solicitor at Latitude Law, provides insight and top tips on the EU settlement scheme. In particular, he discusses the recent developments around the scheme and what both applicants and practitioners should be aware of.