In equity a proviso for re-entry in a lease is to be treated as a security for the payment of the rent.
A tenant applying for relief from forfeiture will normally be required to pay the lessor’s costs of the forfeiture proceedings, save in so far as those costs have been increased by the lessor’s opposition to the grant of relief, upon appropriate terms.
The forfeiture by peaceable re-entry took place on 21 February 1894 and the application for relief was made on 6 July 1894: within six months. Stirling J said: ‘The statute fixes a period of six months only from recovery in ejectment within which an application for relief may be made, and it is said that the whole evil which the Act was passed to remove would be re-introduced if it were to be held that the jurisdiction to give relief were to be applied in a case where peaceable possession had been taken. Upon that two observations may be made: first, that if the landlord desires to limit the time within which the tenant can apply for relief, he can avail himself of legal process to recover possession and so get the benefit of the statute; and, secondly, that it does not follow that a Court of Equity would now grant relief at any distance of time from the happening of the event which gave rise to it. It appears to me that, inasmuch as the inconvenience of so doing has been recognised by the legislature, and a time has been fixed after which, in a case of ejectment, no proceedings for relief can be taken, a similar period might well be fixed, by analogy, within which an application for general relief in Equity must be made. A Court of Equity might possibly say that the action for relief must be brought within six months from the resumption of possession by the lessor.’
McMullen J
[1895] 2 Ch 581, [1895] UKLawRpCh 111
Commomlii
Common Law Procedure Act 1852
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson and Others SC 6-Mar-2013
Daejan owned the freehold of a block of apartments, managing it through an agency. The tenants were members of a resident’s association. The landlord wished to carry out works, but failed to complete the consultation requirements. The court was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 15 October 2021; Ref: scu.471751