Download your free guide now
Download your free guide now

Mark Aldrich, Partner

Mark Aldrich, Partner
t: 0115 976 6129
f: 0115 947 5246
maldrich@brownejacobson.com

|

Property services update - answers to Property services quiz

Thanks to the many of you who took part in our Property Services Update Quiz.  We're pleased to announce the following winner and runners up, to whom we extend our congratulations:

 

Robert Maxey - £200 Buyagift open gift voucher

Andrew Butler - £50 Buyagift open gift voucher

David Buck - £50 Buyagift open gift voucher

 

If you have any comments on this edition of the Property Service update or any suggestions for features then please contact Sarah Freeston.

Implied surrender

The first set of questions related to the topic of implied surrender.  An implied surrender or surrender by operation of law, in legal terms meaning the same thing, will occur when a landlord and tenant conduct themselves in a way that is inconsistent with the continuance of the lease.  The concept is based on the principle of estoppel and does not depend on the actual intention of the parties.  It is for this reason that a surrender by operation of law can be inadvertent.

 

An act will amount to a surrender if it constitutes an unequivocal acceptance by both parties that the tenancy has ended.  In the event of a dispute, the court is looking for circumstances which make it inequitable for the landlord and tenant to dispute that the tenancy has come to an end.  You were asked whether or not the following scenarios would constitute a surrender. 
Please click here to read the answers to this topic.

Waiver

The second set of questions dealt with the issue of the waiver of a landlord's right to forfeit.  In the scenario, under the lease, the rent of £120,000 per annum was payable monthly in advance on the first day of each month without deduction or set-off.  The forfeiture clause read "If the rent or any part thereof shall be outstanding for 14 days after becoming due, whether formally demanded or not, the landlord shall be entitled to re-enter the Property and thereupon the lease shall absolutely determine".

 

You were asked to assume that the rent was outstanding for July and August and then asked which of the following will waive the right to forfeit the lease?
Please click here to read the answers to this topic.

Alienation and consent to underlet or assign

Our third topic dealt with alienation and when it is reasonable for a landlord to refuse a tenant's application for consent either to assign or sublet premises.

 

You were asked to assume that there were no conditions set out in the lease and then asked which of the following were incidents of a landlord unreasonably withholding consent.
Please click here to read the answers to this topic.