The lease contained a tenant’s covenant to repair, and not to assign without the landlord’s consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. T, himself an assignee, and therefore not liable on the covenant after assignment, sought consent from the landlord to assign to A who promised to complete the works of repair. The landlord refused consent.
Held: The landlord had not acted unreasonably, and the appeal failed. Failures by the assignee to provide a schedule of works was not relevant since the only matters which could be taken into account were those applicable at the time the landlord made his decision. However the judge had been correct to say that the landlord was entitled to evidence of the assignee’s capacity to do the work, and that since the landlord would refuse consent to merge the property with A’s existing neighbouring property A would be likely just to sell on the lease.
Citations:
[1989] 43 EG 175
Citing:
Applied – International Drilling Fluids v Louisville Investments (Uxbridge) Ltd CA 20-Nov-1985
Consent to Assignment Unreasonably Withheld
The landlord had refused a proposed assignment of office premises from a tenant who had occupied the premises as its permanent offices, to a tenant who proposed to use the premises as serviced offices – that is, for short-term rent to others. The . .
Considered – Killick v Second Covent Garden Property Co Ltd CA 1973
The belief of the landlord, however reasonable, that the proposed assignee intended to use the demised premises for a purpose which would give rise to a breach of the user covenant was not of itself a ground for withholding consent to assignment. . .
Cited – Farr v Gillings 1928
. .
Considered – Goldstein v Sanders 1915
. .
Considered – Bromley Park Garden Estates Ltd v Moss CA 1982
When considering whether to give consent to an assignment of a lease, the landlord need consider only his own interests.
Slade LJ said: ‘I find it rather more surprising that, when the landlords came subsequently to question the validity of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.223968