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ARTICLE · 18 OCTOBER 2013

Breaking The Mould

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Break notices have long caused sleepless nights for tenants and their lawyers alike.

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Tom Morton
Tom Morton

Break notices have long caused sleepless nights for tenants and their lawyers alike. Get them wrong on a "one stop shop" break date, and a tenant could be left with space it doesn't want at substantial expense for the rest of the term. Some landlords will jump on even the most innocuous inaccuracy, either to exert leverage, or worse still to contend that the break notice is invalid. Even having served a notice correctly, the tenant will not be out of the woods if the break is conditional. In the two recent cases below the tenants achieved favourable outcomes (although only just), but they still serve as a reminder to take extreme care when drafting tenant's break clauses and break notices, and when complying with any conditions.

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