Landlord and Tenant Flashcards

1
Q

What is the difference between a Lease and a Licence?

A

Lease
- Exclusive possession.
- Specified term.
- Rent.
- Interest in land.

Licence
- Personal arrangements to occupy and cannot be assigned.

Street v Mountford 1985

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2
Q

What does an alienation clause do?

A
  • Assignment is the disposal of a whole lease to another party.
  • Subletting creates a subsidiary lease.
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3
Q

What is meant by privity of contract?

A
  • Applies to all leases pre-1996.
  • Means that the original tenant remains liable even where assigned.
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4
Q

What is the L&T Covenants Act 1995?

A
  • Introduction of Authorised Guarantee Agreements.
  • Abolished privity of contract.
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5
Q

What is an Authorised Guarantee Agreement?

A

Agreement between an incoming tenant and outgoing tenant upon assignment that the outgoing tenant will act as a guarantor with regards to terms and payments.

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6
Q

What is a standard rent review pattern?

A
  • Upward only.
  • 3 / 5 / 7 years.
  • Read the lease.
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7
Q

What is a Section 25 notice?

A

Landlord notice to end OR grant new tenancy.

- 6-12 months before expiry.
- Hostile (notice to end).
- Friend (notice to grant new tenancy).

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8
Q

What is a Section 26 notice?

A

Tenant wishes to renew.

- 6-12 months before expiry.
- If Landlord wants to oppose = 2 months to serve counter notice specifying grounds for opposition.

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9
Q

What is a Section 27 notice?

A

Tenant wishes to end tenancy.

- 3 months notice required.
- Can be served before expiry under 27 (1).

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10
Q

What are the grounds for opposing a new lease under a Section 30?

A
  • Breach of repair or other substantial breach.
  • Persistent delay in paying rent.
  • Suitable alternate accommodation (non-fault)
  • Landlord wants to let property as a whole (non-fault).
  • Landlord intends to demolish or reconstruct (non-fault).
  • Owner wishes to occupy (non-fault).
  • Uneconomic subdivision (non-fault).
  • Demolition (boda fide).
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11
Q

What compensation is payable if opposition of a new lease is granted?

A

< 14 years’ occupation - 1 x rateable value
> 14 years’ occupation - 2 x rateable value

Only payable for non-fault grounds i.e., owner wishes to occupy, uneconomic subdivision, demolition.

Compensation dealt with by Section 37.

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12
Q

What are the ways in which a protected tenancy can be brought to an end?

A
  • Section 30 landlord opposition alongside Section 25.
  • Section 26 tenant wishes to renew (thus ending current tenancy).
  • Section 27 tenant wishes to end the tenancy.
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13
Q

What is Section 24?

A

It provides that a business tenancy will not automatically come to an end at the expiry of a fixed term. The tenant will continue to ‘hold over’ until a notice is served.

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14
Q

What is an interim rent?

A

It is the rent between the expiry of the current lease and the effective date of a new lease.

It is usually backdated to the effective date of a new lease - usually 6 months after a Section 25/26 is served stating new lease date.

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15
Q

What does time of the essence mean?

A

Relates to break clauses and means that notice must be served in the time periods stipulated by the clause in the lease otherwise it will not be valid.

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15
Q

What is a break option?

A

Right to terminate a lease before the expiry date as stipulated by the lease. Can only be exercised if the conditions specified in the lease have been met.

16
Q

Section 23 covers qualifying tenancies. What is the criteria for this?

A
  • Must be a business tenancy.
  • Must be in occupation.
  • More than 6 months.
  • Not contracted out under Section 38.
  • Not a tenancy at will.
  • Not mining or agricultural.
17
Q

How do you exclude a lease from Section 24-28?

A

Notice served in a prescribed form by a solicitor.

  • Tenant must make statutory declaration. Immediate and witnessed.
    OR
  • Tenant must make simple declaration. 14 days wait.
18
Q

What is a prescriptive right of way?

A

Obtained by continuous and uninterrupted use being proven over a period of not less than 20 years.

19
Q

What is adverse possession?

A

Process in which a person can become a legal owner of land without an owners permission.

12 years of possession required.

20
Q

What are the bases of rent review?

A
  • Open market.
  • Index linked.
  • Stepped increases.
  • Turnover rent.
21
Q

What are the four standard assumptions in a rent review?

A
  • Available to let on open market (willing tenant to a willing landlord).
  • Property fit for immediate occupation and use.
  • All covenants have been observed.
  • Property used for purpose set out in the lease.
22
Q

What are the three standard disregards in a rent review?

A
  • Effect of goodwill on tenants occupation.
  • Ignore goodwill attached to the property.
  • Tenant improvements if landlord consent had been granted.
23
Q

What is the relative weight attached to comparable evidence?

A

Hierarchy of evidence:
- Open market lettings
- Lease renewals
- Rent reviews
- Independent expert determinations

24
Q

What is a Calderbank offer?

A

Used for disputed rent reviews and marked without prejudice save as to costs.

  • Must have specified timescales for acceptance.
  • Must be a genuine offer.
  • Stems from Calderbank v Calderbank 1975.
25
Q

What are the typical options for dispute resolution for rent reviews?

A
  • Arbitration.
  • Independent Expert.
26
Q

What is the preferred method of dispute resolution for a rent review in a falling market?

A
  • Arbitration.

In a rising market when acting for a landlord an independent expert would be preferable and vice versa for a tenant.

27
Q

What information does a rent review memorandum contain?

A
  • Name of parties.
  • Address of property.
  • Date of lease and rent review.
  • Confirmation of new rent agreed.
  • Signed and dated by both parties.
28
Q

What are the ways to terminate a lease?

A
  • Forfeiture
  • Surrender and negotiation
  • Merger
  • Disclaimer (insolvency)
  • Break clauses
  • Lease expiry and service of notices