Jamie Sutherland & Imogen Dodds consider intention in opposed business lease renewals
- New decision on intention which landlord must prove to oppose business lease renewals on redevelopment or own occupation grounds. Macey v Pizza Express (Restaurants) Limited.
- Court can reject landlord’s evidence of subjective intention without finding him dishonest.
- Practitioners should consider how landlord’s firm and settled intention can be demonstrated.
Under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), a landlord can oppose a business tenant’s right to a renewal tenancy by relying on the grounds set out in section 30(1)(a)–(g). These include that, on the termination of the existing tenancy, the landlord intends to redevelop the premises (ground (f)) or intends to occupy the premises for a business to be carried on by him, or as his residence (ground (g)).
The High Court’s decision in Macey v Pizza Express (Restaurants) Limited [2021] EWHC 2847 (Ch), [2021] All ER (D) 03 (Nov) is the latest case to consider the nature of the intention
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