The tenant had been convicted of permitting the premises in Great Ormond Street to be used for habitual prostitution. The landlord served a notice under section 146 which did not provide for the possibility of the breach being remedied. The evidence showed that the tenant had been knowingly and actively permitting the house to be so used, and had probably been receiving profits from the business.
Held: The breach was not capable of remedy. A breach of a covenant in a lease against illegal use, a negative covenant, is not one capable of remedy, and the court should be more ready to grant forfeiture.
Greer LJ said that the stigma attaching to the property and the resultant loss of value rendered the breach irremediable.
Maugham LJ said that such damage was remediable within a reasonable time.
Judges:
Greer LJ, Maugham LJ
Citations:
[1935] 1 KB 87
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Akici v LR Butlin Ltd CA 2-Nov-2005
The tenant appealed against forfeiture of his lease for breach of a qualified covenant against assignment. It was said that the tenant had attempted to hide from the landlord the assignment of the premises to his company or its shared occupation. . .
Cited – Central Estates (Belgravia) Ltd v Woolgar (No 2) CA 20-Jun-1972
Right to forfeit waived by rent demand
The landlords’ managing agents learned that the tenant had been convicted of keeping a brothel at the premises and served a section 146 notice intending to forfeit the tenancy. He told his staff and instructed them not to demand or accept rent. But . .
Cited – Patel and Another v K and J Restaurants Ltd and Another CA 28-Oct-2010
The landlord appealed against refusal of forfeiture for breaches of the lease. A covenant provided against use for immoral purposes, and the sub-tenant had been found to be running a brothel. The tenant said that he had been concerned of an action . .
Cited – Glass v Kencakes 1966
The court considered the ability of a tenant to obtain relief from forfeiture for illegal or immoral use where the tenant was not aware of the breach by his sub-tenant until he received the section 146 notice. Where the tenant took prompt action to . .
Cited – Telchadder v Wickland Holdings Ltd SC 5-Nov-2014
Old breaches did not support possession order
The mobile home tenant was said to have paraded on the caravan park in combat style clothing, and disguising his face, causing fear among the other tenants. He now appealed against confirmation of the order for possession. He said that there had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.234413
