Case Summary

Title: Laine and Mitchell v Cadwallader & Cadwallader (2001)

Court of Appeal, 26 May 2000

This case concerned tenants, Mr & Mrs Cadwallader who held a periodic assured shorthold tenancy under the Housing Act 1988.  The tenants got behind with their rent, surrendered the keys to the landlord, and promptly left the property.  The landlord brought legal action against the tenants for rent arrears, damage to the property, and rent in lieu of notice.  Case concerned tenant's notice to quit during periodic tenancy. Case confirmed that common law position applies to this situation & tenant liable to paying rent in lieu of notice.

HELD:
The Court held that there is an obligation on the tenant to serve notice to quit if he wishes unilaterially to determine a periodic tenancy. The law requires that any tenant must give formal notice in writing to the landlord; the requirements for such notice must be in writing, must expire on the last day (or the next day) of the tenancy period, and must be not less than one calendar month for a monthly tenancy (four weeks for a weekly tenancy). 

Landlords seem to have regarded the dropping-in of the keys as an offer to terminate - they seem to have agreed to terminate the tenancy at the end of the minimum

Further, the Court held that delivery of the keys to the landlord does not constitute surrender of the tenancy unless the landlord accepts and agrees to the surrender.  "The posting of the keys cannot have constituted more than an offer to surrender that the landlords were free to accept or reject"

The Court of Appeal awarded the landlords damages on all three counts (the tenants had defended the action on the basis that having surrendered the keys, no notice was required to leave the property).

NB.  Kennedy LJ made various comments on the period of the tenancy in this case - these comments are persuasive but not necessary for the decision and must be treated as obiter - (see Church Commissioners v Meya, 2006 para 13)

Citation: Laine and Mitchell v Cadwallader & Cadwallader (2001) 33 HLR 397 

LUJ Ref: July 2000, p11 & 21