Termination of Leases Flashcards
What is effluxion of time in the context of leases?
A. The lease ends at the expiry of the contractual term
B. The tenant breaks the lease early
C. The lease is surrendered by operation of law
D. The tenant stops paying rent
A. The lease ends at the expiry of the contractual term
Explanation: This is the natural ending of a fixed-term lease when the agreed term runs out.
What form must an express surrender of a lease take?
A. Letter from tenant
B. Verbal agreement witnessed
C. Email exchange
D. A deed
D. A deed
Explanation: An express surrender must be executed by deed to be legally valid.
Which of the following ends both the lease and the leasehold interest?
A. Break clause
B. Merger
C. Periodic tenancy
D. Forfeiture
B. Merger
Explanation: A merger ends the lease because both leasehold and superior interest merge in one party.
Which type of tenancy cannot be contracted out of the 1954 Act?
A. Fixed term over 6 months
B. Fixed term of 5 years
C. Periodic tenancy
D. Lease with break clause
C. Periodic tenancy
Explanation: Only fixed-term tenancies can be contracted out; periodic tenancies cannot.
A tenant has a 10-year lease with a break clause at year 5. The landlord exercises the break. The lease is protected. What happens?
A. Lease ends automatically
B. Tenant may hold over and remain in possession
C. Tenant must leave unless compensation is paid
D. Tenant must serve counter-notice
B. Tenant may hold over and remain in possession
Explanation: Unless contracted out, landlord’s break only ends the contractual term, not the tenant’s right to hold over.
A tenant has a protected periodic tenancy running from the 1st to the 30th of each month. They serve notice to quit on 1 April. What is the earliest valid end date?
A. 15 April
B. 1 May
C. 30 April
D. 31 July
D. 31 July
Explanation: For a monthly tenancy, a minimum of one month’s notice is needed, expiring on the first or last day of a period.
A tenant hands keys to the landlord and walks away. The landlord re-lets without objection. What type of termination has likely occurred?
A. Break clause
B. Express surrender
C. Surrender by operation of law
D. Notice to quit
C. Surrender by operation of law
Explanation: Both parties acted in a way that indicates mutual intention to end the lease, which creates a surrender by operation of law.
A tenant’s five-year contracted-out lease ends. The landlord continues to accept rent monthly. What has likely occurred?
A. A periodic tenancy with security of tenure has arisen
B. The tenant becomes a trespasser
C. The lease renews automatically
D. The lease converts to a licence
A. A periodic tenancy with security of tenure has arisen
Explanation: Accepting rent after lease expiry can imply a new periodic tenancy, which may attract security of tenure.
Which of the following will not end a lease with security of tenure?
A. Express surrender by deed
B. Merger
C. Valid section 25 hostile notice
D. Landlord break clause without contracting out
D. Landlord break clause without contracting out
Explanation: A landlord break does not end the tenant’s right to hold over unless the lease was contracted out.
In a reverse premium, who typically pays whom?
A. Landlord pays tenant to stay
B. Tenant pays landlord to exit early
C. Landlord pays tenant for early surrender
D. Guarantor pays for repairs
B. Tenant pays landlord to exit early
Explanation: The tenant pays a reverse premium to the landlord for agreeing to accept early termination of the lease.
Which of the following requires additional notice and declaration procedure, similar to contracting out?
A. Break clause in a fixed-term lease
B. Forfeiture of a protected lease
C. Advance agreement to surrender a protected lease
D. Renewal lease under s26
C. Advance agreement to surrender a protected lease
Explanation: If parties agree in advance to surrender a protected lease, they must follow notice and declaration steps like contracting out.
Which is not a requirement for a landlord’s notice to quit to be valid for a periodic tenancy?
A. It must be at least 12 months long
B. It must end on the first or last day of a period
C. It must follow the appropriate statutory minimum period
D. It may need to double as a section 25 notice for protected tenancies
A. It must be at least 12 months long
Explanation: The required notice period depends on the tenancy period (e.g. one month, one quarter). 12 months is not a universal minimum.
