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Question Title: Long lease (2)
| Question: 436 |
I have had a complaint from a neighbour that one of my tenants is allowing the scouts to store waste paper in a garage which forms part of the tenancy. The tenancy is of a flat in a modern purpose built block of flats. We use the Letting Centre's tenancy agreement which states that:-
"Not to assign, or sublet, part with possession of the Property, or let any other person live at the Property except that during the fixed term of the tenancy the Tenant may assign or sublet with the Landlord's express consent which will not be unreasonably withheld. Such consent, as a variation of the tenancy agreement, to be agreed in writing"
It also states that:-
"Where the Landlord's interest is derived from another lease ("the Headlease") then it is agreed that the Tenant will observe the restrictions in the Headlease applicable to the Property. A copy of the Headlease, if applicable, is attached".
The headlease contains a provision that the occupant should "not at any time during the term to assign underlet or otherwise part with possession of part only of the premises as opposed to the whole". What should I do?
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| Answer: |
Whilst it may seem uncharitable, your tenant is in breach both of his tenancy agreement and the terms of the headlease. By making an arrangement with the scouts to store paper in the garage, the tenant is potentially in breach of the headlease. Whatever the merits of his action, it can be argued that the tenant has parted with possession of part of the premises which are used to store paper.
The breach of the terms of headlease is a breach by your landlord and he could be held liable. The freeholder, which may be a management company owned by all the owners of the flats, will be responsible for enforcing the breach. Many such companies are run by a small board of directors and, in practical terms, it may be best for your landlord to approach one of these directors to try and resolve the issue informally. The directors might well have legitimate concerns. A subletting to the scouts is one thing but a sublet of the same garage to a self employed mechanic repairing cars there would be a quite different matter.
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Tenancy Agreements