Equitable assignment of commercial lease: assignee in possession with landlord consent, formalities incomplete

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What are the formality requirements for assigning a commercial lease?

There are three principal formalities for assigning a lease.

First, the agreement to assign must be in writing and signed, and it must contain all terms expressly agreed by the parties in a single document or, if contracts are exchanged, in each counterpart (section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (LP(MP)A 1989)).
Second, the assignment must be carried out by deed, even where the lease itself was originally granted orally (section 53 of the Law of Property Act 1925; Crago v Julian).
Third, if the lease being transferred is a registered lease, the assignment only completes once it has been registered at HM Land Registry (section 27(1)(a) of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002))...

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Alexander Campbell

Cornerstone Barristers

Alex is a skilful and experienced barrister whose practice primarily spans issues of public law and property law. Alex’s experience of complex public law issues including human rights, equality issues makes him extremely well-placed to assist clients in litigation across the many fields of law in which these issues arise.Alex has been praised by judges as an 'excellent’ advocate, for his ‘forensic precision’ in approaching cases and has been described as ‘an expert’ in his fields of practice. He is well-liked by clients for his approachable manner and for his ability to bring clarity to complex cases. He is ranked in Chambers and Partners 2018 and is described as a ‘rising junior with a growing reputation’.Alex was called to the Bar after an exceptionally strong academic background. Alex holds a law degree from Trinity College, Cambridge and was awarded multiple prizes for his...

Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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