A landlord’s right to break a telecoms lease without a contractual break clause?

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06/03/2007 Mark Newton FRICS Partner Mark has a wide ranging experience in all aspects of professional work. He is also one of the country’s leading experts in telecoms sites and wind farms.

Telecom leases which have not been contracted out of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 provide the telecom operators with a protected business tenancy, thus allowing them the automatic right to renew the agreement at the end of the term on roughly similar terms to that previously agreed, although a market rent can still be achieved.  However, under this Act a landlord is also restricted in their right to break the lease, even if there is a break clause in the lease. Statutory rights under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 can override the contractual ones.

However, where a landlord has no contractual right to break under the terms of their lease, under the Telecommunications Act 1984, a landlord can break for redevelopment, or even a change of use, but only if the lease is excluded from the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, or is a licence. 

The reasoning for this is that whilst the Telecommunications Act 1984 overrides contractual obligations it does not override statutory rights under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954.  A landlord must therefore serve a notice upon the tenant, and the tenant must serve a counter-notice in order to ensure they do not lose their code powers under the Telecommunications Act.  Whilst the landlord does not have to give a specific notice period for vacant possession, it is likely the courts would require the landlord to pay the tenant’s reasonable removal costs which could still prove inhibitive to the landlord.

For further information on this please contact either mark.newton@fishergerman.co.uk or eve.watson@fishergerman.co.uk  

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