Defeating Tenancy Renewal Requests By Reason Of Redevelopment

A recent English High Court decision, S Franses Ltd v The Cavendish Hotel, examined a landlord's intention to carry out substantial construction work to a premises and its ability to oppose its tenant's lease renewal.

The law

A landlord in England may oppose a lease renewal by demonstrating that it intends to carry out substantial construction work to the premises and that it could not reasonably do so without obtaining vacant possession. This is known as "Ground F". There is a similar provision in the Irish Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1980. Both require that the landlord must be able to prove a fixed and genuine intention to redevelop at the date of the lease renewal hearing. The major distinction between Ireland and England is that English legislation only requires a reasonable prospect of planning permission, whereas in Ireland a valid planning permission is required.