The question was whether a landlord could exercise a right to break a lease by serving a notice under section 25 of the Act, which provides for termination of a tenancy by the landlord.
Held: If a notice is served on an occupying tenant in conformity with the lease, but not in conformity with the Act, its effect is to terminate the contract but not the tenancy.
The fact that the statutory definition of ‘notice to quit’ includes a notice to terminate a tenancy for a term of years certain means that a break notice is a ‘notice to quit’ as defined.
Harman LJ said: ‘the question is whether, having regard to section 25 of the Act, the landlords may determine a lease having a break clause such as the present one under that section provided only that the termination date is not earlier than the date on which the break clause could operate. The judge held that the landlords could do this without first going through the formality of serving a notice to bring the break clause into operation. In my opinion the judge was right and, in fact, I think that section 25 so provides in express terms.’
Diplock LJ: ‘As regards a tenancy which would, apart from the Act, come to an end by notice to quit given by the landlord in accordance with the terms of the lease or tenancy agreement, the provision substituted by the Act is that such tenancies may be terminated by the landlord by giving notice to quit in the prescribed form. The statutory provisions to which I have referred are not in addition to but in substitution for those terms contained in the lease or tenancy agreement which relate to tenancies coming to an end by effluxion of time or by notice to quit given by the landlord to the tenant.’
Judges:
Diplock LJ, Harman LJ
Citations:
[1967] Ch 41
Statutes:
Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 25
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Blunden v Frogmore Investments Ltd CA 30-Apr-2002
The tenant had a lease of business premises. The premises were damaged in a terrorist attack, and the landlord served a notice terminating the lease. The lease gave the right to the landlord to determine the lease if the property was incapable of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.182292