Chapter 10 - Lease Termination and Security of Tenure

Question 1

How is a lease terminated at common law?

Answer 1

1. effluxion of time
2. notice to quit
3. surrender
4. merger
5. forfeiture

Question 2

effluxion of time

Answer 2

This is where a fixed-term lease automatically comes to an end at the end of the contractual term. No notice is needed.

Question 3

notice to quit

Answer 3

A periodic tenancy will end by one party giving notice on the other. The notice should be at least one full period (month, quarter, etc) expiring at the end of a completed period. A yearly tenancy, however, only requires 6 months notice.

Question 4

surrender

Answer 4

Surrender is where the tenant yields up the lease to the landlord. Both the tenant and landlord must agree to the surrender. To be legal, the surrender must be made by deed.

Question 5

merger

Answer 5

A merger occurs where the tenant acquires the immediate reversion to the lease (the landlord’s estate). A merger will also occur where a third party acquired both the lease and the reversion. The lease will automatically be extinguished.

Question 6

To what leases does the 1954 Act (security of tenure) apply?

Answer 6

The 1954 Act applies to leases where the tenant occupies the premises for business (business tenancies).

Question 7

What types of leases are excluded from the 1954 Act?

Answer 7

• tenanacies at will (where the tenancy can be terminated by either party at any time)
• fixed term tenancies not exceeding 6 months
• business tenancies for agriculture, farming, and mining
• fixed term tenancies that have been ‘contracted out’

Question 8

What is the effect of the 1954 Act?

Answer 8

A tenancy to which the Act applies shall not come to an end unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Act, creating ‘security of tenure’.

Question 9

What are the 7 methods of termination under the 1954 Act?

Answer 9

1. by the service of a landlord’s notice under s 25
2. by the service of a tenant’s request for a new tenancy under s 26
3. forfeiture
4. surrender
5. for a periodic tenancy, by the tenant giving the landlord notice to quit (the landlord may not give notice to quit on the tenant)
6. for a fixed term lease, by the tenant serving 3 months written notice on the landlord under s 27, so long as the notice does not expire before the contractual term
7. for a fixed term lease, by the tenant ceasing to be in occupation for business purposes at the end of the lease

Question 10

How may a landlord end a tenancy protected by the 1954 Act?

Answer 10

If the tenant has not breached the lease (to give grounds for forfeiture), and the tenant will not agree to surrender, the only method available to a landlord to terminate the lease is under s 25.

Question 11

s 25 termination by the landlord (either to grant a new lease with different terms or to take possession) - procedure

Answer 11

1. The landlord must serve s 25 notice on the tenant.
2. The notice must indicate if the landlord opposes the grant of a new lease or not.
3. If the landlord does not oppose a new lease, it must state its proposals as to the terms of the new lease.
4. If the landlord does oppose a new lease, it must state the s 30 grounds.
5. The notice must state the date upon which the landlord wants the tenancy to end (no earlier than the tenancy could have been ended under the common law).
6. The notice must be served on the tenant no less than 6 months, but no more than 12 months, before the proposed termination date.

Question 12

What must the tenant do following service of a s 25 notice by the landlord?

Answer 12

• The tenant must apply to the court before the expiry of the s 25 notice, otherwise they will lose their rights.
• If the landlord indicates it does not oppose a new lease, the parties will enter negotiations.

Question 13

s 26 renewal request by the tenant