Forfeiture

When a business tenant is in rent arrears or is in serious breach of the lease terms, then the
commercial landlord will in most cases have the right to forfeit – the right to summarily end the
tenancy. The landlord must, however, comply with section 146(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925.
There is no automatic right to forfeit a lease unless the lease contains specific provisions by way of a
clause setting out the grounds on which the landlord may forfeit. The landlord’s actions must
indicate that he intends to end the lease, so actions to the contrary, like accepting rent, will remove
the right to forfeit. There are two main methods of doing this: (1) by peaceable re-entry to the
premises or (2) by issuing court proceedings for possession.