Landlord's Works, Quiet Enjoyment & Derogation from Grant [2022]

Landlords will have many reasons for carrying out works on or adjacent to leased premises during the term of a lease. It may simply be a matter of complying with obligations as to services and repair, such as replacing lifts or air-conditioning plant, or it may be a more strategic project such as a major refurbishment or reconfiguration. The landlord may be exercising its right to carry out works within the tenant’s repair obligations following service of a repair notice. Upgrading energy efficiency performance is increasingly a prompt for landlords to undertake work to a development, while the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the revisions to the Use Classes Order have led landlords to consider adapting premises for repurposing.

The starting-point, of course, is that the tenant has exclusive possession of the premises, subject to any express rights of access in favour of the landlord. There may well be rights reserved in the lease to facilitate works, but exercise of those rights will be subject to the quiet enjoyment covenant and the implied obligation not to derogate from grant, as well as the law of nuisance.

Below are a number of matters that will be covered:

• Common flashpoints: scaffolding and screens, noise, hours of work, interruption of services
• Drafting considerations for access rights
• Local authority powers
• Remedies for nuisance