Landlord's Consent to Assignment & Sub-letting: When the landlord is opposed [2019]

When a lease says that the tenant must get the landlord’s prior consent before assigning its lease, or sub-letting the premises, on the face of it that’s a very simple business. The tenant asks ‘Can I?’, and the landlord replies ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, according to inclination. In reality it’s much more involved than that; a combination of conventional lease drafting, statute, and caselaw has restricted to a large extent what landlords can do, while tenants need to be alive to procedural details.

It’s an area of practice which can throw up really tricky technical issues, and there is potential for serious problems to arise in future if applications for consent are not dealt with properly.


This series of webinars focuses on the areas of most interest and difficulty, and is suitable for both solicitors and management surveyors.

When the landlord is opposed

• Calculating the damages

• Is it worth asking for a declaration that the landlord is unreasonable?

• Proceeding without consent – pros and cons

• Options for landlords – the Crestfort v Tesco injunction

• Statutory duties v waiver of the right to forfeit – how to square the circle