Artworld Financial Corp v Safaryan [2009]

The entirety of the landlord’s conduct should be considered when deciding whether they have accepted a surrender. It is their conduct rather than their words that are relevant. The tenants took a three year tenancy of a house in September 2004, the £390, 000 annual rent being commensurate with the luxury nature of the property. This was payable by instalments, three-monthly in advance. During the tenancy, there were technical troubles with the property. The tenants said that the central heating and swimming pool did not work property, and that despite their complaints to the landlord, a trust company named Artworld, these problems were not fixed as they should have been under the lease. The tenants contended that the landlord’s failure to remedy the defects was so serious that they were entitled to treat the lease as repudiated (terminated).