Originally published in July 2003
Several recently reported cases point to potential pitfalls for landlords and tenants.
Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 landlords must respond within a reasonable time to a tenant’s request to assign a lease or underlet where the lease requires the landlord to act reasonably1. In a recent case2 the tenant’s solicitors made a written request in March for a licence to assign and after some correspondence the landlord’s solicitors responded in May refusing consent on the basis of inadequate sureties. Further correspondence ensued between solicitors during which the landlord’s solicitors raised as a new point the tenant’s allegedly unauthorised alterations. The tenant issued proceedings alleging an unreasonable withholding of consent. The Court of Appeal decided that the landlord was bound by its May decision letter. That brought to an end the reasonable time under the 1988 Act. In addition nothing in the subsequent correspondence constituted a
