Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) provides for statutory security of tenure for most business tenancies. As a result, a tenancy does not expire by effluxion of time but continues and either the landlord or the tenant can apply to the court for the grant of a new tenancy. The landlord can terminate the tenancy only through following the procedure as set out in LTA 1954. By LTA 1954, s 38, parties cannot contract out of its provisions, save as permitted by LTA 1954, s 38A. This allows that the parties can agree that LTA 1954, ss 24–28 do not apply, but such an agreement is void unless the landlord has served on the tenant a notice in or substantially in the form set out in the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003 (RRO 2003), SI 2003/3096,

Commentators suggest that, on the basis of the wording under section 1012 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), and similar provisions under earlier Companies Acts: 'various authorities have accepted that, on dissolution, freehold property vests in the Crown as bona vacantia.' See:The consequence of disclaimer of freehold property—escheat: Property Insolvency [8.6] footnote 3 for more information. Where property is deemed bona vacantia (meaning 'ownerless property') at the date of dissolution it will vest in and belong to the Crown (or the Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall, as may be appropriate) under CA 2006, s 1012. The Crown is entitled to disclaim its interest in bona vacantia property under CA 2006, s

In the High Court case of Good Harvest Partnership LLP v Centaur Services limited, the court had to decide whether a guarantor of an original tenant can lawfully be made to enter into an authorised guarantee agreement under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995), or whether such arrangement is avoided by LT(C)A 1995, s 25. The landlord’s argument was essentially that, whereas, the guarantor was released by the LT(C)A 1995, s 24(2) from further liability under the tenant covenants in the lease, the obligation under the Authorised Guarantee Agreement (AGA) was a new obligation from the date of the assignment. Therefore, the guarantor (Centaur) was released from its obligations under the lease, but was free to enter into different obligations under the AGA. However, the judge held that any guarantee of the assignee’s covenants entered into by the guarantor of an original tenant was void on

A sublease is a lease granted out of an original tenant’s lease, that original lease often being referred to as the headlease. The original tenant retains their lease with the landlord, but grants a sublease to a subtenant who pays rent to the tenant. The tenant will remain bound by the terms of the headlease even if a sublease is granted and the tenant is no longer in occupation, and so will still be liable to pay rent to the landlord. This provides protection to the landlord in the event that the subtenant fails to comply with the terms of the sublease. The first step

Provided a tenancy satisfies the requirements of section 23 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), a tenant will have a statutory right to seek a new lease or tenancy at the expiry of its current tenancy, pursuant to LTA 1954, s 24, and the tenancy will continue in the meantime until terminated in accordance with LTA 1954. This Q&A assumes that in this scenario, as at the contractual termination date of the headlease, the property was not wholly sublet, and that the headtenant is ‘occupying the premises for the purposes of business’. In that regard please note that the LTA 1954 does not protect intermediate landlords who are not themselves in occupation, even though they conduct the business of sub-letting and receive income from it: Graysim Ltd v P & O Property Holdings Ltd. This is so even though the landlord, having sub-let offices or

This Q&A is fact specific and will depend on: • whether the land was registered or unregistered. In relation to registered land, see Practice Notes: Claiming title by adverse possession under the Land Registration Act 2002 and Claiming title by adverse possession under the Limitation Act 1980 or the Land Registration Act 1925 • when the adverse possession occurred • whether adverse possession can be made out • how far away the garage is from the demised premises If the

The usual rule is that an underlease cannot be granted for a term equal to or exceeding the term of the lease, and must therefore reach the end of its contractual term before the expiry of the lease. Any underlease purported to be granted for a term equal to or longer than the lease takes effect as an assignment of the lease. There is an exception if the lease has security of tenure under the Landlord

A business lease which was contracted out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954(LTA 1954) expires at the end of the contractual term. No further steps are required to bring it to an end: the former tenant becomes a trespasser, and the landlord is entitled to possession. See Commentaries: Expiry: Claims to the Possession of Land [B1.2] and Expiration of the term at common law: Hill

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 extended the right of tenants to bring claims before the Residential Property Tribunal for rent repayment orders. Where the tenant has lived in a property within the preceding 12 months and the landlord commits one of a specified number of offences (including violence for securing entry, harassment of tenants, failure to comply with various obligations or failing to obtain a necessary licence) the tenant, if they can show beyond reasonable doubt that such an offence has been committed, can be awarded a sum of up to 12 months’ rent

Case study A lease of a telecoms mast granted in 1951 includes a covenant ‘to keep in repair’ the track leading to the mast. The track consists of part public bridleway and part adopted highway and is also used by adjoining owners to access other buildings and agricultural land. Shared rights of way As is the case in this scenario it is not uncommon for a right of way to be enjoyed with others and enquiries must be made as to those with whom the tenant will be sharing this right and if there are corresponding maintenance obligations on such third parties. The nature and the amount of the use to which the right of way is put is generally directly linked with the cost of the upkeep

A request for a new tenancy made under section 26 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) cannot be withdrawn once served: Polyviou v Seeley. Nor can a section 27 notice to terminate the tenancy be given after service of a section 26 request: LTA 1954, s 26(4). Therefore, if the tenant no longer wishes to take a new tenancy after serving a section 26 request, they may: • if the contractual expiry date of the lease has not passed, give up occupation by that date

There is little authority in this area. The underlying substantive law in relation to implied terms is considered in Practice Note: Express and implied terms. A valid and binding CFA must be in writing (Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s 58(3)(a)). Any variation to that agreement should also be in writing. For the court to order that a term be implied into the CFA, essentially varying it will therefore be in exceptional circumstances. In the following cases, the