Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Landlord definition

What does Landlord mean? In legal practice, a landlord is the person or entity that grants a lease or tenancy of land or buildings and retains the immediate reversionary interest. The term is used descriptively across property and housing law; while particular statutes define “landlord” for specific regimes (notably residential tenancies), its core meaning is consistent in England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. A landlord is entitled to receive rent and enforce the tenant’s covenants and other obligations, and may exercise contractual and statutory remedies (such as possession proceedings, forfeiture in England & Wales and Northern Ireland, or irritancy in Scotland) where the...

Leases: allocation of environmental contamination liability and indemnities—landlord for existing; tenant for new/aggravated; regulatory allocation agreement under Defra/Welsh Statutory Guidance (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Precedents

1 Definitions

Contamination: Hazardous substances present at, in, on or beneath the Premises.
Aggravated Contamination: Existing Contamination worsened by the Tenant or those it controls.
Environment: air, land, water, and supported ecosystems or organisms, including humans.
Existing Contamination: contamination present by Lease start, and its escape, excluding Aggravated.
Hazardous Substances: any substance, alone or combined, able to harm the Environment or the health of organisms it supports.
Losses: all losses, liabilities, actions, proceedings, claims, judgments, penalties, damages, costs and expenses, including legal and other professional fees.
New Contamination: contamination (not Existing/Aggravated) first arising or migrating after Lease start.
Statutory Guidance: Defra 2012 and/or Welsh 2012 guidance, plus later regime guidance.

2 Contamination

The Tenant has no responsibility or liability for Existing Contamination; the Landlord must indemnify the Tenant.
The Tenant is liable for, and shall indemnify the Landlord against, Losses from New Contamination and Aggravated Contamination.

3 Agreement on liabilities

Clauses 2.1 and 2.2 comprise the liabilities agreement for paragraph 7.29 of the Statutory Guidance.
If a regulator (the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, or the local authority) takes enforcement, remediation costs and liabilities must follow this agreement.
Neither party may challenge its application...

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

DOWNLOAD THIS DOCUMENT

Keith Davidson

Irwin Mitchell

Keith is a Partner at Irwin Mitchell in Manchester specialising in environmental transaction advice. Keith is dual qualified in England / Wales and N.Ireland and is a former Environment Commissioner for Greater Manchester. His practice areas include contaminated land, brownfield development, environmental insurance, and carbon literacy training. He provides EHS transactional support to 20 other law firms. Keith has been top ranked in Chambers and Legal 500 for the last 15 years. “A leader at understanding and managing environmental liability” Chambers UK Guide...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

Popular documents

Using the Judicial College Guidelines to assess general damages in personal injury claims

When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...

Tomlin orders in England and Wales: CPR guidance on drafting, confidentiality, approval, variation, enforcement, limitation, CCA issues, court-specific requirements, sample wording and precedents

This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...

Precedent: Deed of Surrender of Lease with Optional Premium, Settlement and Release, Landlord, Mortgagee and Guarantor Consents, Reimbursement and HM Land Registry Provisions (England and Wales)

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...

Precedent Statutory Declaration: Standard Wording under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835

I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...