Steel A March

The recent High Court decision in Peel Land and Property (Ports No. 3) Ltd v TS Sheerness Steel Ltd [2013] serves as a useful reminder of the principles a court will take into account when determining whether a tenant is entitled to remove equipment installed at the premises on lease expiry.

Under the general law, a tenant is entitled to remove chattels and those removable fixtures it has installed at the end of the term even where they have been installed pursuant to an obligation under a lease. The latter category are classified as tenant's fixtures. The general position can, however, be displaced where such equipment forms such an integral part of the structure or fabric of the property to the extent that it becomes part of the property.  It then loses its status as a tenant's fixture.