Where no other proceedings have been commenced for the grant of a new tenancy or termination of an existing tenancy or where such proceedings have been disposed of, an application for

Under section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925, an assignor (A) can assign a legal right (ie to claim rent arrears) to an assignee (B), effective as of the date of assignment provided that notice has been given to the person liable (ie the tenant) (C), unless: • C is aware that A is objecting to the assignment, or • that there are other conflicting claims in respect of the legal right In that event,

There are a number of general rules which apply to all three ways in which an easement can be established by prescriptive user (see Practice Note: Acquisition of easements by long use, in particular sections titled 'User as of right' and 'Continuous enjoyment'). It is often said that there is another particular rule, which applies generally to all types of prescription: that, the user must be by or on behalf of a fee simple owner against a fee simple owner (see Bright v Walker). This rule has two consequences. First, it is not legally possible for a tenant to prescriptively acquire an easement for (limited) a term of years; it is only possible to acquire an easement in fee simple (ie in perpetuity). Secondly, it is not legally possible to acquire an easement against a tenant of land which does not adversely affect the freeholder after the term of years has come to an end. Both

We assume that the covenants to be released in this matter are ‘landlord covenants’ in the nature of those provided for in the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995) rather than personal covenants. Prior to LT(C)A 1995, the original landlord remains liable to the original tenant for the performance of the landlord covenants, notwithstanding that the landlord may have sold the reversion. Under LT(C)A 1995, there is no automatic release of a landlord of a ‘new’ lease from their landlord covenants. However, there is provision for the landlord to make an application for statutory release. See Practice Note: Lease covenants—liability after assignment of a lease or its reversion for further information. Statutory release LT(C)A 1995, ss 6–8 provides a mechanism for the landlord under a new lease to be released

A landlord seeking possession of a property let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) during the fixed term of the tenancy, may either operate a break option contained in the tenancy, or where there is some default on the part of the tenant, serve a notice pursuant to section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988)

Whether a notice to quit can be retracted There is various authority for the position that a notice to quit, once it has been served, cannot be retracted. However, a notice can be withdrawn or the right to enforce it waived with the consent of the party to whom the notice is given. In Clarke v Grant, the Court of Appeal held that a notice to quit cannot be waived by, for example, the landlord continuing to accept rent payments from the tenant. In this respect, the parties were held to be in a different position compared to when, for example, a landlord waives a breach of covenant. Giving judgment, Lord Goddard CJ stated: ‘It has always been held that, if a landlord seeks to recover possession of property on the ground of a breach of covenant which entitles him to claim a forfeiture, acceptance

There is nothing in the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that prevents a tenant from applying for a new lease with a 999-year lease. So long

By virtue of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 (CPA 1947), the Crown may be sued in contract or tort in the normal manner as a private person, by way of legal proceedings brought against

The registration gap is the period of time between the completion of a transfer of a property between vendor and purchaser and the subsequent registration of that transaction on the register of title at HM Land Registry. The reason that the registration gap is potentially important is due to the effect of section 27(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002, which provides that where a disposition of a registered estate or registered charge is required to be completed by registration, it does not operate at law until the relevant registration requirements are met. Therefore, prior to the completion of registration, the purchaser has only an equitable title and the seller remains the legal owner notwithstanding the completion of the sales process, the receipt of monies and possession by the purchaser. This can cause difficulties in respect of properties that are tenanted.

A notice under section 42 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) (ie a notice by a qualifying tenant of a claim to acquire a new lease of a flat) is to be given to the landlord and any third party to the lease. ‘Landlord’ is defined in LRHUDA 1993, s 40, as the person who owns the interest in reversion expectant on the termination of the tenant’s lease, and is either a freehold interest or a leasehold interest of sufficient duration to allow the grant of a new lease under

Termination by the tenant As set out in Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination, a business lease with protection of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) continues under LTA 1954, s 24 unless terminated by a common law method (eg forfeiture or surrender) or by a statutory method (eg termination by a tenant under LTA 1954, s 27). In Provident Mutual Life Assurance v Greater London Employers’ Association Ltd, the High Court (Chancery Division) considered whether a notice under LTA 1954, s 27(2) was required to determine the term of a tenancy. In the decision, Lightman J refers to the Court of Appeal decision in Long Acre Securities Ltd v Electro Acoustic Industries Ltd. In that case, before service by the

A right of set-off can be excluded by clear words (see Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking v Kloeckner) and where a lease provides that rent should be paid 'without any deduction or set-off whatsoever' this will be sufficiently clear (see Electricity Supply Nominees v IAF Group and Star Rider v Inntrepreneur Pub and Practice Note: Set-off and deductions from rent referred to in this Q&A). However, the potential