Landlord's Consent to Assignment & Sub-letting: When the landlord must be reasonable & why [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 must be reasonable, and why

• What is the usual content of alienation covenants in leases? What is the underlying rationale?

• How has Parliament intervened with statutory provision, and why?

• How can landlords increase the amount of control they have over this crucial area of activity?