Termination of lease — Defective notices under section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 — Wrong termination date — Alleged failure of solicitors to verify terms of lease — Judgment for the plaintiff
The plaintiff owned land in Ilford, Essex, including a road frontage which he leased to Mills & Allen Ltd (“MAL”) for advertising purposes. In 1987 he contracted to sell the land and instructed the defendant firm of solicitors to act for him in the sale and to terminate the MAL lease so as to enable the plaintiff to give vacant possession to the purchaser by March 30 1988. The plaintiff alleged that by reason of the service by the defendants of four defective notices under section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, possession was not obtained by the date agreed with the purchaser of the land and he suffered loss. The defendants contended that they served the notices in reliance on the information given to them by the plaintiff’s son that the tenancy held by MAL was evidenced by an undated and unexecuted form of agreement and a schedule thereto executed by the plaintiff on June 13 1983 and by MAL on May 24 1983. In fact that agreement was superceded by a lease dated, and with a term commencing on, July 1 1983. The defendants further alleged that they advised the plaintiff that the documentation did not include a formal lease to MAL and that inquiries ought to be made of the plaintiff’s previous solicitors. The notices were defective because they did not have regard to the fact that the term of the MAL lease expired on July 1 1988 and continued thereafter from year to year.
Held Judgment was given for the plaintiff.
The date of termination of the MAL lease was crucial to the proper service of a notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The defendants had failed to exercise reasonable skill and failed to peruse the documents with proper care. They ought to have taken further steps to verify the term date of the MAL lease. Damages were agreed as £60,176 and interest at £13,159.
John Powell QC and Sue Carr (instructed by Payne Hicks Beach) appeared for the plaintiff; and John Stevenson (instructed by Ince & Co) appeared for the defendant.
