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Sportoffer Ltd v Erewash Borough Council: ChD 17 Mar 1999

The landlords were the local authority, and operated a municipal leisure centre. The tenants were the tenants of a squash club and applied for consent to a change of use to use as a leisure centre. The landlords objected on the ground that the proposed change would damage the viability of their municipal leisure centre.
Held: The refusal was upheld as reasonable. When considering whether the landlord had unreasonably withheld his consent to an alteration in the user of premises, the court must allow the landlord to take into account matters relating to other of its properties and to look only to its own interests: ‘I would find it surprising if a landlord could not reasonably take into account the circumstances of other property of his own, whether let or in hand, when considering an application for a consent to change of use under a lease. A shopping centre is an obvious example, but not the only case, where estate management considerations may suggest that one type of use be allowed under a lease but others not, because of the circumstances of other adjoining property. I find nothing in Balcombe L.J.’s judgment, nor in the case cited by him in relation to the proposition which I have mentioned, which suggests that this is not legitimate or that Sir John Pennycuick’s decision in Whiteminster Estates Ltd is wrong. I therefore hold that, following Sir John’s decision, a landlord can legitimately take into account considerations relating to adjoining property of his own, whether let or not.’

Judges:

Lloyd J

Citations:

Gazette 17-Mar-1999, [1999] 3 EGLR 136

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedWhiteminster Estates Ltd v Hodges Menswear Ltd 1974
The landlords carried on business as men’s outfitters. They also owned the shop next door which had been let as a cafe. The tenant applied for consent to assign the lease to another men’s outfitter, and the landlord refused on the ground that the . .
CitedInternational 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 . .

Cited by:

CitedSargeant, and Sargeant v Macepark (Whittlebury) Limited ChD 8-Jun-2004
The landlord granted the tenant a licence to make alterations to the property, but imposed conditions on the use to be made of the resulting premises. The tenant objected.
Held: The landlord was entitled when granting consent to take into . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Landlord and Tenant

Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.89458

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