The How and Why of Forfeiture: A unique landlord’s enforcement measure

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Contents

There are many advantages to lease forfeiture: in the best case, it can be a quick and cheap route to recovery of possession, or a powerfully effective measure to persuade a tenant to comply with its obligations.  A succession of new cases on forfeiture confirms that landlords are once again beginning to consider it as a means of dealing with tenant default, after some years when it has not looked attractive.  Against that, the Law Commission has said that the law of forfeiture is “complex”, even “incoherent”, and “can lead to injustice”.  Proposals for reform of the law have been on the table for a considerable time.  There are a number of simple practical measures which can both maximise the chances of a good outcome and help to avoid the hidden traps, and both surveyors and solicitors need a good working understanding of the law and practice if the procedure is to be operated effectively.  This module aims to deliver that.

Learning Objectives

As a result of watching this video, delegates will:

• Understand both the advantages and the drawbacks of forfeiture
• Be familiar with the formal procedural requirements of forfeiture
• Appreciate how the right to forfeit can be waived inadvertently, and the protocols to minimise the risk of waiver
• Understand the practicalities and the legal parameters of changing the locks, and how to deal with the aftermath
• Manage the potential for applications for relief from forfeiture

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.