The landlord opposed the grant of a new lease, saying that he wanted to demolish the premises. It was known that he wanted to dispose of the premises at a later date. The judge found that the intention to demolish was genuine but that it was colourable because it was simply a device to be able to sell.
Held: The result required under the notice could be achieved with a short term lease. The landlord’s motives were not relevant. The landlord had shown sufficient intention to redevelop, to justify the limited renewal.
Staughton LJ, delivering the only reasoned judgment, treated the above cases as authority for the proposition that ‘in general, motive is irrelevant, provided there is a genuine intention to demolish or reconstruct’
Staughton LJ
[1994] 1 EGLR 134 B, [1994] 69 P and CR 433
Landlord and Tenant Act 19545
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – S Franses Limited v The Cavendish Hotel (London) Ltd SC 5-Dec-2018
The question which arises on this appeal is whether it is open to the landlord to oppose the grant of a new business tenancy if the works which he says that he intends to carry out have no purpose other than to get rid of the tenant and would not be . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant
Updated: 29 November 2021; Ref: scu.216662