Speakers' Corner

When is a landlord entitled to repair or replace an item and able to recover the cost via a service charge?

Cadogan Leisure Investments Limited (“Cadogan”) brought forfeiture proceedings against lessee Danovo Limited (“Danovo”), the company operating the Saatchi Gallery at County Hall. That action came to trial in October 2005 before Sir Donald Rattee, sitting as a High Court Judge. The outcome of the trial is well-known; the Judge found that Danovo was in breach, but he declined to grant relief. This article looks at the issues in the forfeiture proceedings, and the factors taken into account by the Judge in refusing to grant Danovo relief.

Both landlords and tenants can get entrenched in their relative positions in dilapidations cases, especially where one party wields more power or control i.e. where break clauses are involved.

s.18(1) of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1927 imposes a well-known cap on the damages recoverable by a landlord for disrepair at the end of a tenant’s term. In summary, the effect of this section is to limit recoverable damages to the diminution in value of the reversion.

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