By Matthew Lonergan, Lucy Shepherd

A recent case has confirmed that a landlord was entitled to oppose its tenant’s lease renewal under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 where redevelopment of the site was to be undertaken by a third party.

Background
The case of Santander UK PLC v LPS Estates Ltd concerned the security of tenure afforded to business tenants under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. This act gives a business tenant the right to remain in occupation once its lease has ended and the right to request the grant of a new lease on existing terms. A landlord is only entitled to refuse a request for a new lease on specific and limited grounds set out in section 30 of the act. One of those grounds – ground (f) – requires a landlord to prove that, on the termination of the current tenancy, it intends to substantially demolish or reconstruct the premises to such an extent that it could not reasonably do so without first obtaining possession of them.