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Options for landlord This checklist outlines the choices open to a landlord of commercial premises where the tenant is an insolvent individual, and explains the effect of restrictions operating under the various insolvency regimes. Where a landlord of a commercial property seeks to take steps against an insolvent tenant who is an individual, this checklist should then be referred to to confirm whether the landlord is permitted to pursue such action...
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...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. This Flowchart outlines how to end an assured (AT) or assured shorthold tenancy (AST) via section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988), including: service of a section 8 notice issuing proceedings the steps in the case leading to an order for possession Where HA 1988 applies, unless the tenant agrees to leave voluntarily, a landlord may recover possession only by using the procedures in HA 1988, sections 8 or 21, obtaining an order for possession and enforcing it. See Practice Note: Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—terminating. The section 8 process is available where the tenant has defaulted on tenancy obligations (for example, failing to pay rent) or the landlord qualifies for possession on another HA 1988, Sch 2 ground, whether during a fixed...
This Flowchart This Flowchart supports your decision on whether a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) is necessary when initiating a new project that involves personal data from the outset, helping you decide effectively. It sets out: three scenarios in which a DPIA is mandatory under Article 35(3) of Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679, UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR); and ten further processing activities for which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) requires a DPIA to be carried out Where a DPIA is not needed, you should think about using a simpler form of review, which we call a privacy impact assessment (PIA) instead. The Flowchart enables you to determine which assessment—DPIA or PIA—best fits your project in practice. For additional guidance on DPIAs and PIAs, see Practice Note: How to complete a data protection impact assessment—DPIA...
During any due diligence on acquiring a leasehold interest in land, it is vital to review whether the tenant may assign, underlet, or charge the premises. Provisions that are too restrictive may: adversely affect the buyer’s ability to dispose of their interest in the property in the future create a burden for day-to-day property management impact the overall value of the property to the buyer This Checklist is directed chiefly at leases granted for a reasonably long term at an annual market rent. For further guidance on: building leases, see Practice Note: Building leases—alienation side-by-side or geared rent leases, see Practice Note: Headlease rent linked to underlease rents long leases granted for a premium at a peppercorn rent where the leasehold interest is virtually equivalent to a freehold interest, see Precedent: Long lease of whole of commercial premises at a premium Assignment Can the tenant assign the lease and is the landlord’s consent...
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. ...
In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Leasing property Statutory compliance Property development Property taxes Property in Wales 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 Law Society comments on Renters' Rights Bill The Law Society has issued its view on the Renters' Rights Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Lords on 4 February 2025. It broadly backs the planned changes—such as prohibiting ‘no-fault’ evictions and curbing rental bidding wars—but warns these aims risk faltering without clearer enforcement mechanisms and extra funding for the justice system. It also notes the reforms could prompt more contested hearings, since landlords will need to evidence valid grounds for possession, and a spike in claims as tenants gain greater scope to challenge evictions. The Law Society urges the government to set out how courts will be resourced...
In this issue: Transferring property Commercial real estate finance Statutory compliance Property development Easements, rights and covenants Residential property Insurance Property taxes Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers New Q&As Transferring property HMLR announces plans to share data on avoidable requisitions with customers HM Land Registry intends to provide firms with visibility of the proportion of their applications that include simple-to-avoid requisitions, such as mismatched names, missing documents, and witness information. These insights are scheduled for publication in Autumn 2025. Across firms, current levels vary, with between 0% and 24% of applications affected. In tandem, HMLR is refining its processes and systems to better support users: raising requisitions only where necessary and automatically validating certain details at the drafting stage. The goal is to achieve accurate registrations first time, without the need for extra clarification or additional supporting material. See: LNB...
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...
Introduction This Practice Note examines how dwellings (often called 'tied cottages') provided to agricultural workers as part of their employment terms are regulated under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 (R(A)A 1976) as a 'protected occupancy', or the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) as an 'assured agricultural occupancy', or the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (RH(W)A 2016) as an 'occupation contract'. It also considers the effect and implications of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (RRA 2025) on those lettings. Non-tied accommodation (ie lettings of farm houses and other dwellings on agricultural land) will generally be subject, as appropriate, to the provisions and requirements of the Rent Act 1977 (RA 1977), HA 1988, or RH(W)A 2016. Lettings under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 or the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 that include dwellings fall outside the scope of this Practice Note. These lettings are not affected by RRA 2025...
Deposits requested by landlords and letting agents for certain residential tenancies must be safeguarded by a tenancy deposit scheme (TDS), whether insurance-based or custodial. This Practice Note outlines the purpose of the deposit legislation, the obligations on landlords, the financial penalties for non-compliance, and the limits on regaining possession. The deposit regime All deposits taken by landlords for residential assured tenancies (ATs) in England must be protected under a TDS. Transitional provisions exempt tenancies that were non-shorthold ATs before 1 May 2026. The parties cannot contract out of these duties. There are two forms of TDS: insurance-based schemes and custodial schemes. They are intended to: allow tenants to recover all or part of their deposit when they are entitled to it and make any disputes easier to resolve encourage landlords and tenants to agree clearly from the outset on the property's condition so that a landlord is not left out of pocket when the tenancy expires and the tenant leaves ...
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...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], do solemnly and sincerely state that: [ I have worked for [ name of owner ] (‘the Owner’) for [ number ] years. During the past [ number ] years I have occupied the role of [ description ]. I am completely familiar with the matters addressed in this statutory declaration. OR I am [ a partner in OR employed by ] [ name of firm ], a practice of [ chartered ] surveyors which, since [ date ], has been continuously engaged by [ name of owner ] (‘the Owner’) to [ manage and act as agent OR collect the rents and other income and pay the outgoings OR [ other ] ] for the Owner in connection with the Property (as defined below). I have personally [ carried out AND/OR supervised ] that work since [ date ]. I am thoroughly acquainted with the matters addressed in this statutory declaration. ] The Owner is the [...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. Introduction The defence to a possession claim arising from non-payment of rent must be filed using Form N11R (defence form—rented residential premises). These drafting notes assist with properly completing Form N11R only...
Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004) sets out the obligations on landlords who take a deposit in relation to an assured shorthold tenancy. Every deposit must be handled in line with an authorised scheme (HA 2004, s 213(1)), and the scheme’s initial requirements must be met within a period of 30 days from receipt of the deposit (HA 2004, s 213(3))...
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...
Right to rent scheme The duties imposed by the right to rent scheme extend to all relevant lettings described in Practice Note: Residential tenancies—a tenant’s right to rent under the Immigration Act 2014, except where a letting is an excluded tenancy set out in Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 2014 (IA 2014), also cited in that Practice Note. Be aware that social housing—as defined in IA 2014, Sch 3—is outside scope entirely...