We recently served a section 25 notice on behalf of one of our clients who is a landlord of a commercial property.

So what exactly is a section 25 notice? Right, get yourself a coffee, becomes here comes the law (which we promise to translate and apply into practical advice, naturally!).

At the end of a lease of commercial premises, the lease will not actually expire until it is terminated. This is where a section 25 notice comes in.

Named after section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the notice is a mechanism where the landlord terminates the lease. The lease must be terminated whether or not the landlord wishes to renew it.

This is not the only way to terminate a commercial lease. How you can terminate a commercial lease depends upon the individual facts of the case. For example, you can have a lease which ‘opts out’ of the security of tenure provisions (the right of a tenant to occupy a property after the lease expires) meaning the commercial lease will come to an end at the end of the lease term. Other examples are the landlord’s right to forfeit the lease for breach of covenants, a lease being surrendered by mutual consent, or either party exercising a ‘break clause’ in a lease.

Security of tenure provides a tenant with significant protections. To invoke and navigate the procedure under section 25 requires expert advice. So get in touch, and find out more about how we can help you!