Landlords And Tenants - Take Notice!

Anybody who is involved in property matters (be it landlord, tenant, agent or legal adviser) needs to know how to draft and serve a notice in accordance with the underlying contract or statute, otherwise there could be serious (and unwanted) repercussions.

The recent High Court case of Vanquish Properties (UK) Limited Partnership v Brook Street (UK) Limited is a blunt reminder of the strict requirements for serving a valid break notice.

Background

Serving a notice is often a vital step in creating, exercising, maintaining or terminating legal rights in a lease, sale contract, development agreement or option or pre-emption agreement. A notice should be drafted and served strictly in accordance with the relevant contractual or statutory provisions. Failure to do so can lead to the loss of legal rights or unwanted continuing legal and financial obligations.

In the Vanquish Properties (UK) Limited Partnershipcase, a landlord lost its right to terminate its lease early because the break notice was incorrect.

Facts

The case centred around a 10 year lease of a property on Fenchurch Street (expiring in 2021), which was earmarked for development.

The property was originally leased by The City Corporation as landlord to Brook Street as tenant. The lease contained a landlord's break right to terminate the lease on 27 September 2016 on six months' notice. The City Corporation subsequently granted an overriding lease to a developer, "Vanquish Properties (UK) Limited Partnership acting by its general partner Vanquish Properties GP Limited", who became Brook Street's direct landlord. Shortly after the grant of the overriding lease, Vanquish's lawyers served a break notice on Brook Street to terminate the lease. The break notice stated that it was served on behalf of "Vanquish Properties (UK) Limited Partnership, the landlord of the property". The problem with both the overriding lease and the break notice was that it is legally impossible forVanquish Properties (UK) Limited Partnership, as a limited partnership, to hold a lease. A limited partnership (unlike a limited...

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