Business Tenancies Flashcards
What does security of tenure mean?
Means that a tenant with security of tenure may continue to occupy the premises at the end of the contractual term.
They may request a new tenancy and the landlord’s ability to recover the premises from the tenant is limited
What are the benefits of security of tenure for the tenant?
- the tenant being able to treat the premises as a long term prospect means that the tenant can invest in fitting out the premises and making them suitable for their purposes
- a retail or restaurant business know that they can recap the benefits of goodwill from their location
- tenant does not have to worry about the considerable upheaval that could be caused by having to move at the end of the contractual term
What are the benefits of security of tenure for the landlord?
- the premises will be more appealing to prospective tenants
- the tenant may be encouraged to treat the premises as their own and therefore look after them. Will be repairing obligations in the lease anyway, but better if tenant observes them without being coerced to do so
- may mean landlord can achieve higher rent at rent review
When does security of tenure apply?
1) to tenancies
2) with premises occupied by the tenant
3) for the purposes of a business
What tenancies will security of tenure apply to?
- fixed term tenancies
- periodic tenancies
What will security of tenure not apply to?
- licence to occupy
- tenancies at will
What does it mean that the premises must be occupied by the tenant?
- tenant cannot leave the premises vacant
- will not be in occupation in tenant underlets the whole or part of the premises
What does ‘for the purposes of a business’ mean?
Means that the tenant must be using the premises for any ‘trade, profession or employment’
What have been held to be business purposes?
- charity shops
- tennis club for members only
- residential use that furthers the tenant’s business (eg accommodation for medical school students or lease of shop)
What have not been held to business purposes?
- Sunday school sessions provided free of charge
- tenant of a house taking a small number of lodgers without profit
What tenancies are excluded from security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954?
- agricultural tenancies
- mining leases
- service tenancies
- fixed term tenancies of six months or less (but can become protected if the tenant has been in occupation for twelve months or more, whether through successive tenancies or if the tenancy is renewable beyond six months)
Can parties contract out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 secured tenancy provisions?
Yes - if a fixed term lease
No - if a periodic tenancy
How can the parties contract out of the secured tenancy provisions?
Two stages:
Stage 1 - landlord must serve a warning notice on the tenant in the prescribed form which details the consequences of contracting out the security of tenure provisions. Notice must be served prior to parties completing lease.
Stage 2 - tenant must provide a declaration in prescribed form to the landlord before completing the lease.
Lease completion 14 days from date of warning notice - signed declaration enough
Lease completion less than 14 days away, tenant must provide a statutory declaration (declared before an independent solicitor)
Lease must contain reference to both notice and declaration of contracting out
What happens if the correct procedure for contracting out of security of tenure is not complied with?
Lease will likely enjoy security of tenure
What happens at the end of the lease term where there is no security of tenure?
The tenant has no right to occupy and if the landlord has notified the tenant that it requires possession at the end of the contractual term, and the tenant continues to occupy then the landlord can treat them as a trespasser and recover possession
What happens at the end of the lease term where there is security of tenure?
The tenant has a right to stay in occupation - holding over.
The landlord cannot evict the tenant during this time and the tenant’s else can only be brought to an end by certain methods allowed by the landlord and tenant act 1954.
What options does a landlord have in bringing a protected tenancy to an end?
Landlord can:
- forfeit the lease if there has been a breach of the tenant’s covenants and the lease allows this
- serve a s 25 notice, which may indicate intention to recover the premises or offer a renewal lease
What options does a tenant have in bringing a protected tenancy to an end?
- simply vacate the premises at the end of contractual term
- to surrender the lease with the landlord’s agreement
- for a periodic tenancy, serve notice to quit to bring the tenancy to an end
- serve a section 26 notice to request a new tenancy
- serve a section 27 notice to leave the premises
What must the landlord’s state and do to be compliant with the legislation in serving a hostile section 25 notice?
- it must state when the current tenancy will end
- must be on or after the date which the contractual term ends
- s 25 notice must be be served no less than 6 months and no more than 12 months before the date of termination
- must be in the form prescribed by statute