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Article - Landlord & Tenant | |||
Forfeiture - Non-Rent Since
28 February 2005, the rules relating to forfeiture were tightened as
Section 168 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 came into
force. This provision applies
to forfeiture for non-rent reasons. This
provision came into force as a result of landlord’s issuing Section 146
Notices pursuant to the Law of Property Act 1925 to tenants for minor
breaches of a lease where the landlord had no intention forfeiting the
lease. The rationale behind
service of these notices was to induce the naïve tenant into paying a
lump sum and costs to the landlord in settlement of the alleged breaches. Under
the new provisions, if the tenant does not admit any breaches of the lease
then the landlord will have to refer the matter to either the Land
Valuation Tribunal or to Court for a determination on this point.
Following a successful determination of this point and the
expiration of fourteen days, the landlord may then serve a Section 146
Notice on the tenant. If the
tenant fails to remedy the breach or the landlord does not accept that the
breach has been remedied then the landlord may issue proceedings for
forfeiture. Once
proceedings are issued, the tenant will have the option to apply for
relief from forfeiture. If the
tenant decides to apply for relief from forfeiture then the Court will
determine whether the forfeiture is valid.
If it is not, then the Court will dismiss the claim.
If it is, then the Court will declare that the forfeiture is valid
and may Order the tenant to pay the landlord’s costs. If the tenant does not apply for relief from forfeiture, then the Court will decide whether the tenant has a defence (other than the non-occurrence of breach) and following this determine whether the forfeiture is valid or not. Article First Published: 16 April 2005 Disclaimer The views on this website are not necessarily those of the Student Law Journal and is not intended to provide legal advice. Any legal problems should be specifically addressed to a solicitor. © Student Law Journal, 2001 - All Rights Reserved |
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