Lease meaning

This Checklist sets out the matters a landlord ought to weigh up where a tenant faces insolvency, highlighting the options open to the landlord, such as Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR), forfeiture, drawing on a rent deposit, and pursuing former tenants, guarantors and sub-tenants. It further addresses practical considerations for the landlord, including steps for securing and marketing the property, and contacting the insolvency practitioner. What type of insolvency scenario applies to the tenant? The remedies that can be exercised, and the limits that will bite, differ depending on the particular insolvency arrangement affecting the tenant. Each procedure brings distinct constraints and options. For a table summarising the restrictions, see Practice Note: Quick guide to landlord’s remedies in tenant insolvency. Has contact been made with the insolvency practitioner? It is vital to liaise with the relevant insolvency practitioner to assess the tenant’s position and to evaluate what, if any, prospect exists of outstanding sums being repaid, future rents being protected, or the tenant emerging from the...

This Checklist highlights principal actions and considerations for a tenant weighing up surrendering its lease to its landlord. It is not comprehensive, and you should always assess whether further matters arise that require attention in your specific situation, including any fact-specific risks or obligations. This guidance proceeds on the basis that the following apply: the surrender is by express agreement and not effected by operation of law, and no immediate re-grant in favour of the tenant will follow the surrender You can read this Checklist alongside Practice Note: Lease surrenders and Checklist Surrender of lease—acting for the landlord—checklist. How to use this Checklist Although the mechanics of a lease surrender broadly resemble a sale and purchase in commercial terms (the tenant effectively sells and the landlord buys), notable distinctions remain. The opening section (Key issues) identifies the main points for review, with additional explanation provided in the Procedure table below for handling a lease surrender, in more detail for...

To bring a business tenancy to an end on the contractual expiry date or at any point thereafter, a tenant may rely on a notice given under section 27 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). This Checklist sets out the circumstances and procedure for serving such a notice. For wider guidance on ending LTA 1954 tenancies, refer to Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination. It outlines timing and the method of service in clear terms. Is the tenancy for a fixed term? A section 27 notice is available only where the tenancy is for a fixed term. It is not available for periodic tenancies. Nevertheless, a tenant may end a periodic tenancy by giving a common law notice to quit (see Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination under the heading Termination of LTA 1954 tenancies). Have any other notices been served? Once a tenant has served a section 26 request, they cannot then serve a section 27 notice...

This Checklist is intended for situations where: a leasehold property is being purchased and the tenant (or a predecessor in title) entered into an agreement for lease prior to completion of the lease; or a reversionary interest is being bought and the reversioner (or a predecessor in title) entered into an agreement for lease before completion of an existing occupational lease, or an agreement for lease remains in place pending completion of a lease. In each case, the agreement for lease predates completion of the relevant lease. You should confirm whether any outstanding or continuing obligations in the agreement for lease (eg to rectify defects or undertake works) will bind the purchaser. Any surviving obligations that bind successors in title could adversely affect the property’s investment value. Note that this Checklist is not comprehensive and, depending on the nature of the transaction, other issues may arise from the agreement for lease and require consideration. This Checklist also does not address limitation periods...

This flowchart supports a tenant’s bid to extend a lease under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993). It explains the procedure beginning with service of the tenant’s section 42 notice, then the landlord’s section 45 counter-notice, and the time limits for issuing applications to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) (or, in Wales, the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT)), and/or to the County Court where required. Note 1 See Practice Note: Guide to lease extensions of flats under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993—Preparation for securing a lease extension...

Flowchart This Flowchart helps determine which stamp duty land tax (SDLT) provisions are relevant on a lease renewal where a tenant remains in occupation by ‘holding over’ after a fixed-term lease ends. It should be considered together with the fuller Practice Note: SDLT—holding over. The SDLT provisions governing situations where a tenant holds over a lease, and that lease is subsequently renewed, are intricate and often complex...

State aid General Court dismisses appeals regarding Spanish aid for the acquisition of ships The General Court delivered its ruling in Joined Cases T- 29/14 Telefónica Gestión Integral de Edificios y Servicios (formerly Taetal) v Commission and T- 31/14 Banco Santander v Commission, brought against the Commission’s decision of 17 July 2013. That decision concluded that a Spanish scheme for purchasing ships, structured around leasing and financing through tax relief, involved unlawful State aid (SA.21233) (the Commission’s 2013 decision). The Court rejected the actions. Under that arrangement, a shipowner could have a new vessel constructed with a rebate applied to the price set by the shipyard. To benefit from the reduced price (net of the rebate), the shipping company was required to agree to acquire the vessel not directly from the shipyard, but from an economic interest grouping (EIG) created under Spanish law and established by a bank. The Commission’s 2013 decision has already been considered in earlier cases. The Commission’s 2013 decision has been the subject of previous...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Contracts International Public procurement Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&A Commercial Highlights 2025/2026 Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—17 December 2025 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received six objections about adverts for weight-loss medicines and services, covering promotion of prescription-only medicines, irresponsible body-image messaging and gender stereotyping, plus assertions that a medicine assists beyond its authorised indication. The ASA upheld the complaints. See: LNB News 17/12/2025 20. Which? finds budget airlines’ cabin bag fees far higher than advertised Consumer's Association (Which?) carried out research into budget airline bag pricing, finding that major carriers such as RyanAir and Easyjet routinely fail to include in the advertised total the realistic cost of baggage. Which? has referred its findings to the ASA for misleading 'from' price claims and the ASA is investigating. See: LNB News 15/12/2025 14....

In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Transferring property Property insolvency Property taxes Easements, rights and covenants Property in Scotland Leasing property LexTalk®Property: a Lexis®Nexis community Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New Q&As Key developments and horizon scanning Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LFRA 2024), which gained Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and featured in last week’s highlights, has now been published. Sections 113 (controls on remedies for arrears of rent charges), 117 (recovery of legal costs etc through service charge), 118 (repeal of section 125 of the Building Safety Act 2022) and 119 (higher-risk and relevant buildings: insolvency notifications) take effect two months after Royal Assent (24 July 2024). The rest of LFRA 2024 will commence by regulations to be made by the new government after the election. See: LNB News 04/06/2024 14. ...

Stop Press : From accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2026, the Diverted Profits Tax is superseded by the unassessed transfer pricing profits rules. This Practice Note, alongside Transactions in UK land—tax rules, examines the anti-avoidance provisions aimed at countering attempts to sidestep tax on income, profits or gains connected with arrangements concerning, or trades of dealing in, land. The main anti-avoidance measure seeks to treat gains of a capital character realised on the disposal of land as income, bringing them within income tax or corporation tax. Further detail appears in Practice Note: Transactions in UK land—tax rules. From 5 July 2016 these rules superseded and expanded the former transactions in land rules (for information on prior rules, see Practice Note: Real estate—anti-avoidance: disposals of land and taxing capital gains as income (pre 5 July 2016) [Archived])...

What is a service charge? A service charge is a sum a tenant may have to pay to a landlord under a commercial lease to reimburse the landlord for services they provide in connection with the common parts and for the upkeep of the property. Commonly, this applies where multiple tenants occupy one property, for example a shopping centre, and the landlord looks after the communal parts of the building for everyone’s benefit. In most contemporary leases the tenant pays the service charge on account, before the landlord incurs the expenditure, calculated from an estimate of the next year’s costs. At the close of the accounting period a reconciliation is prepared and any shortfall or surplus is settled by or to the tenant. Sometimes, earlier forms of lease stipulate that the landlord must meet the outlay first. For more detail on service charges ordinarily charged to tenants of multi-occupied buildings by commercial landlords in Scotland, see Practice Note: Service charge and outgoing provisions in commercial leases in Scotland. ...

What is a CVA? A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) is a form of insolvency that permits a company to enter a binding agreement with its creditors to compromise unsecured debts or otherwise agree how its affairs are handled. The directors continue to run the business, under the oversight of an insolvency practitioner. Retailers, particularly those with extensive property portfolios, frequently adopt so‑called ‘landlord CVAs’ to reset rental commitments and shut loss‑making stores. This note outlines how property law and landlord and tenant considerations may emerge under such a CVA. It highlights provisions commonly included in CVAs and explains how they tend to work in practice. Nevertheless, each CVA will vary according to the precise terms proposed. It is therefore vital to examine the CVA proposal carefully to assess its effect on creditors. This note does not provide detailed guidance on the mechanics of approving and implementing a CVA. For Practice Notes addressing the CVA procedure, see: Company voluntary arrangements—an introductory guide The CVA proposal and...

Definitions (General) Competent Authority • any body exercising jurisdiction over the Property, its occupation or its use; Restricted Period • any period [ exceeding [ number ] [ continuous ] weeks ] within the Term when a Pandemic Restriction is operative; Pandemic Restriction • any Legislation, or any requirement from, or guidance issued by, a Competent Authority that: (a) arises from [ COVID-19 or the occurrence of any other OR any ] national or local pandemic disease; and (b) prohibits, hinders or limits the Tenant from [ fully ] [ trading at the Property OR using [ more than [ number ]% (measured by floor area) of ] the Property for the Permitted Use ] . 1 Repair—suspension of Tenant’s repair obligation for pandemic reason The Tenant’s obligation to observe [ this clause OR clause [ number ] ] is suspended to such extent as the Landlord’s Surveyor deems fair...

NOTICE FROM TENANT TO STOP TACIT RELOCATION OPERATING Our Reference : [ add reference ] Your Reference : [ add reference ] Date : [ enter date ] To : [ Provide name of recipient and address ] Dear [ enter organisation or recipient name ], Premises: [ enter address of premises ] more precisely described within the Lease Lease : The lease made between [ Enter the landlord’s name ] and [ enter name(s) of tenant(s) ] dated...

LR1. Date of the lease [ enter the date in full format DD-Month-Year ] LR2. Title Number[s] LR2.1 Landlord's title number [ s ] [ the title numbers from which this lease is granted. Leave blank if unregistered ] LR2.2 Other title numbers [ existing title number [ s ] against which entries relating to LR9, LR10, LR11 and LR13 are to be made ] LR3. Parties to this lease Landlord [ enter landlord's name and address ] Tenant [ enter tenant's name and address ] Other parties LR4. Property Where this clause conflicts with any other part of the lease, then, for registration purposes, this clause shall take precedence. [ enter details of the Property ] LR5. Prescribed statements etc LR5.1 Statements prescribed under rules 179 (dispositions in favour of a charity), 180 (dispositions by a charity) or 196 (leases under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban...

Section 17 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995) provides that: (1) This provision applies where a person (“the former tenant”) has, as a consequence of an assignment, ceased to be the tenant under a tenancy, but either: namely that (a) in the context of a new tenancy, has, under an authorised guarantee agreement, guaranteed his assignee’s performance of a tenant covenant of that tenancy under which any fixed charge is payable; or (b) in relation to any tenancy, still remains obliged by that covenant under that tenancy, notwithstanding assignment...

Lease or licence? In Street v Mountford, the House of Lords set out the core indicators of a tenancy. These focus on the substance of the arrangement rather than the label attached to it: exclusive possession of specified premises Although the payment of rent may suggest a tenancy, it is not essential. Whether the proposed arrangement is a lease or a licence turns on the agreement taken as a whole; where the parties in reality confer exclusive possession, that result cannot be avoided by calling the document something else. What counts is the essence of the bargain, not its outward form or chosen description. Even where the paperwork is properly framed at the outset as a true licence, the parties’ subsequent behaviour may alter the character of the arrangement so that a tenancy is later created. For further discussion, see Practice Note: Leases and licences of land—key features and differences, together with the commentary in Hill and Redman’s Division A from paragraph...

In such situations, if a tenant declines to grant the landlord entry to examine the premises, this amounts to a breach of the lease terms, as the lease contains a provision giving the landlord the right to enter the property for inspection, following a stated period of notice thereafter...