The former landlord had sold a number of buildings, some of which fell within Part I of the 1987 Act. The section 5 notice had not been served. The vendor had also failed to comply with his duty (under s 5(5)) to ‘sever’ the transaction, and sell the buildings within Part I separately. A majority of the tenants in three of the buildings containing flats subsequently served a purchase notice on the new landlord under section 12. Under 12(3)(a), where the interest subject to the disposal related to property in addition to the premises within Part I, the purchase notice ‘shall . . require that the new landlord dispose of that estate or interest only so far as relating to those premises’, subject to ‘such modifications as are necessary or expedient in the circumstances.’ Contrary to that requirement, the purchase notice required the transfer of all the buildings, whether or not within Part I. The Judge held that that was a clear breach of the section, which was fatal to the validity of the notice.
Held: The appeal succeeded. That particular requirement was directory only. A new freeholder was bound by the need to give a notice of the right of first refusal to his tenants.
Lord Justice Staughton Lord Justice Aldous and Sir John May
Times 27-May-1996, [1996] 1 WLR 1587, [1996] EWCA Civ 1355
Bailii
Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 5 12
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Belvedere Court Management Ltd v Frogmore Developments Ltd CA 24-Oct-1995
Landlords had sold flats to Frogmore without serving a section 5 notice under the 1987 Act. Prior to receipt of a purchase notice, Frogmore granted certain leases in the block of flats to another party.
Held: The agreements were upheld, and . .
Cited – Howard v Secretary of State CA 1975
A notice of appeal was given against an enforcement notice, under the Act which required that an appeal should be made by notice in writing to the minister, ‘which shall indicate the grounds of the appeal and state the facts on which it is based’. . .
Cited by:
Cited – M25 Group Limited v Tudor and others CA 4-Dec-2003
Tenants served notices under the Act requiring information about the disposal of the freehold. The landlords objected that the notices were invalid in failing to give the tenants’ addresses as required under the Act.
Held: The addresses were . .
Cited – Long Acre Securities Ltd v Karet ChD 3-Mar-2004
The landlord of premises held under long residential leases at low rents gave notice of its intention to sell the freehold. The tenant objected that separate notices should have been given for the several structures involved.
Held: Provided . .
Cited – Kensington Heights Commercial Company Ltd v Campden Hill Developments Ltd CA 21-Mar-2007
The head landlord had accepted a surrender of the head lease and granted a new lease. but for a longer term. The claimant company sought, on behalf of the qualifying tenants of the estate, an order for the disposal to it of the original lease under . .
Cited – Dartmouth Court Blackheath Ltd v Berisworth Ltd ChD 27-Feb-2008
Tenants asserted a right of first refusal under the 1987 Act on a proposed disposal of the freehold. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 13 December 2021; Ref: scu.148112
