The High Court has taken being on a break to new heights. It held in a recent case (Vistra v CDS) a break notice was still valid four years after being served.

The facts of the case get more interesting, the break notice was served by a former tenant, but the notice ended up effecting the current tenant. This may seem unfair; how can a former tenant have affected a successive tenant in such a way?

Further still the break notice prevented the current tenant from exercising its right to security of tenure! For the purposes of the LTA 1954, the break notice was a valid ‘notice to quit’ in which case would invalidate any subsequent s.26 notice (a notice served on the landlord by the tenant to renew the lease).

All this may seem complex to someone not versed in commercial landlord and tenant relationships, but the take-away points from this case are as follows:

• It is possible for a break clause to have an effect on the current tenant even if the break notice was served by a previous tenant.

• A break notice can be found to be valid after 4 years.

• In addition, and as a result of the above two points, a tenant no longer has the entitlement to security of tenure after a break notice is served.

So, what does this mean for the future? Well, the High Court cannot be bound by its own decisions (unless hearing an appeal) so the law has not fundamentally changed. It would be more appropriate to note how the courts apply the law to break clauses and interpret them in leases. As a result, lawyers acting for tenants in the future may like to implement safeguards in the lease to protect the tenant from the events described above.

If you would like to find out more, or if you think you are concerned you are being caught in a similar mishap, contact Allan Janes on 01494 521391.