COMMERCIAL lease break clauses continue to be a rich source of dispute.
A challenging economic climate makes it easy to understand why.
For example, a tenant may wish to exercise the break to offload an over-rented property whilst a landlord may be desperate to avoid the expense of empty premises.
A recent Court of Appeal decision, Friends Life v Siemens Hearing Instruments Ltd, gave a boost to a landlord’s ability to keep their tenant committed under the lease.
The court held that the break clause conditions must be strictly adhered to.
Failure to do so will mean the tenant’s break notice is invalid regardless of the condition’s practical effect and how clear it is that the tenant wanted to terminate.
Tenants should follow the conditions of a break clause to the letter and landlords are entitled to pick through their break notice with a fine-tooth comb.
The Porter Dodson Dispute Resolution team is available to help you with any questions you may have.
Contact Ben Jones on 01823-625834.
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