Module 1 · Chapter 2

Heads of Terms and Security of Tenure

A business tenant may stay on when its lease ends. A landlord that wants its space back on a fixed date must contract the lease out first, in three steps.

≈ 8 min read 8-question test

In this chapter

  • What security of tenure gives a business tenant
  • How a lease is contracted out, and why 14 days matter
  • Two checks before the draft lease goes out

2.1Security of tenure in one paragraph

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 protects a business tenant that occupies its premises for its business. When the lease ends, the tenant does not have to leave: the tenancy carries on, and the tenant can ask for a new lease. The landlord can refuse only on grounds the Act lists. This protection is called security of tenure.

A landlord that wants its space back for certain on a fixed date must act before the tenant is bound. The two sides agree that the protection will not apply. This is called contracting out.

Key point

A contracted-out lease ends on its end date, and the tenant must leave. A lease inside the Act can run on long after that date. Contracting out does not shorten the lease. It makes the end date certain.

Also in this chapter

  1. Why Fellgate contracted out
  2. Contracting out in three steps
  3. How Fellgate contracted out
  4. Two checks before the draft goes out
  5. Your job

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