Break clauses had been exercised on behalf of the plaintiffs. The defendant landlords appealed a decision upholding the notices. A penalty rent had been sought.
Held: There had been no sufficient agency established to validate the notice. The timely payment of the penalty rent was of the essence. The appeal was allowed.
Judges:
Lord Justice Simon Brown Lord Justice Peter Gibson Mr Justice Mccullough
Citations:
[1997] EWCA Civ 1816
Statutes:
Distress for Rent Act 1737, Landlord and Tenant Act 1730
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Jones v Phipps QBD 1868
For many years, an agent had, with the authority of his principals, dealt with an estate as his own and negotiated with the tenant as to the terms and continuance of the holding.
Held: It was incidental to that authority that he should . .
Cited – Townsends Carriers Ltd v Pfizer Ltd 1977
A break notice had been served not by the tenant company but by an associated company, the service not being on the landlord company but an associated company.
Held: Because the tenant and the landlord had allowed their respective associated . .
Cited – Re Knight and Hubbard’s Underlease 1923
The court considered the validity of a notice to determine an underlease. The beneficial owner of the reversion was a friendly society, all of whose property was vested in trustees of the society holding as nominees, and for the exclusive benefit, . .
Cited – Peel Developments (South) Ltd v Siemens plc 1992
A break notice was served by the tenants on a subsidiary of the landlord company. That subsidiary was found to have acted as managing agent of the property.
Held: On the evidence that the management of the property was carried out by the . .
Cited – Harmond Properties Ltd v Gajdzis CA 1968
The County Court decided that a notice to quit given to a tenant by a director of the landlord company in his own name was valid.
Held: The decision was correct. The director had carried out the letting and acted as if he were the landlord in . .
Cited – Stait v Fenner 1912
The lease to Fenner contained a break clause. The lease was legally assigned to X and then to Y. Y then agreed to assign back to Fenner (but no formal assignment was entered). Fenner then ‘assigned’ to Z (the contract saying that he was not obliged . .
Cited – United Scientific Holdings v Burnley Borough Council HL 1978
The House was asked whether a failure by a lessor to keep strictly to the timetable laid down in a rent review clause in a lease necessarily deprived the lessor of the benefit of the rent review.
Held: A stipulation as to time in an option . .
Cited – Union Eagle Limited v Golden Achievement Limited PC 3-Feb-1997
(Hong Kong) The parties had contracted with each other for the sale of land. Completion was to take place on the appointed day at 5:00pm. A ten per cent deposit had been paid, and time had been made of the essence. The seller sought to rescind the . .
Cited – Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd KBD 18-Jul-1946
Promissory Estoppel Created
The plaintiff leased a block a flats to the defendant in 1939, at an annual rental of pounds 2500. High Trees had difficulty in filling the flats because of the war, and the parties agreed in writing in 1940 to reduce the rental to a half. No time . .
Cited – Hughes v Metropolitan Railway Co HL 1877
A notice to repair had been served by the landlord on the tenant. The tenant wrote offering to buy the premises and proposed deferring the commencement of repairs until the landlord responded. The landlord replied by letter asking the price. It was . .
Cited – Taylors Fashions Ltd v Liverpool Victoria Trustees Co Ltd ChD 1981
The fundamental principle that equity is concerned to prevent unconscionable conduct permeates all the elements of the doctrine of estoppel. In the light of the more recent cases, the principle ‘requires a very much broader approach which is . .
Cited – Woodhouse AC Israel Cocoa Ltd SA v Nigerian Produce Marketing Co Ltd HL 1972
To found a promissory estoppel there has to be a clear and unequivocal representation as to the intended actions of the defendant.
Lord Hailsham LC reiterated the proposition derived from Low v Bouverie that in order to give rise to an . .
Cited – Amalgamated Investment and Property Co Ltd (in Liq) v Texas Commerce International Bank Ltd CA 1982
The court explained the nature of an estoppel by convention.
Lord Denning MR said: ‘The doctrine of estoppel is one of the most flexible and useful in the armoury of the law. But it has become overloaded with cases. That is why I have not gone . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 25 September 2022; Ref: scu.142212