Break Options: Practicalities of negotiating and exercising them

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Contents

With occupiers continuing to look for shorter terms than landlords are typically happy with, break options are an increasingly common feature of leases, and appear to offer useful flexibility.  All too often, though, when it comes to exercising the option, technical and practical difficulties emerge, frequently because landlords may take advantage of the peculiar case-law in this field to frustrate the option.  Tenants’ advisors, whether surveyors or solicitors, need to know what terms they should be negotiating for and the drafting tips which can avoid pitfalls.  Both landlord and tenant need to understand the issues which can arise when the break option is exercised.  This module addresses both aspects, by reference to the latest case-law.

Learning Objectives

As a result of watching this video, delegates will:

• Understand what terms of a break option should ordinarily be acceptable to both landlord and tenant
• Be on top of the drafting tips and tricks
• Understand how to prepare for service of a break notice, and the practical measures which can minimise risk so far as possible
• Gain an awareness of what is involved in project-managing the exercise of a break option
• Understand the parameters of what a landlord can legitimately do when attempting to frustrate the exercise of a break option

Speaker

MARK SHELTON

Mark Shelton has worked in major commercial law firms for 30 years.  As a property litigator he worked at Linklaters, and was later a partner at Lawrence Graham.  He has acted for clients including Land Securities, British Land, Allied Dunbar Assurance, J Sainsbury plc and the Burton Group, gaining experience of the full range of contentious work in a commercial property context.

More recently he has practised as a professional support lawyer, working at DLA Piper and Eversheds, and now works freelance as a legal trainer.  He is also the author of The Lease Guide website.  Outside work, he does his best to reconcile an enthusiasm for wine and cuisine with an equal enthusiasm for cycling and triathlon.