Your Former Properties May Come Back To Haunt You.

In times of economic difficulty, as a former tenant of property you may find yourself served with a notice relating to your old premises and being told that you remain liable for the rents and other tenant liabilities under the lease. You may even be threatened with legal action if you do not pay. These notices are served under section 17 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995.

This can come as quite a shock particularly if the property was vacated some considerable time ago and the personnel who would have known about it have all left.

Over the past few months, there has not surprisingly been an increase in landlords looking to former occupiers to settle rental liabilities where the current tenant has defaulted. However, there are a number of statutory provisions which afford some protection to former tenants and may minimise or even cancel out liability.

Below are some points to consider when faced with a demand for payment:-

Ascertain whether your liability is under a lease granted prior to 1 January 1996 or not because the rules as to the extent to which you are liable are different.. If it is under a lease granted after 1 January 1996 obtain a copy of the authorised guarantee agreement which you entered into when you disposed of the premises.

Obtain a copy of the lease and any ancillary documents such as licences under which you are alleged to have a liability - any variation may impact on your liability.

Check whether the defaulting tenant is the person you assigned to or whether it is their successor. This could affect your liability to the landlord and you may also have an indemnity which you can enforce against your own assignee.

Work out what sums are being demanded, what they are for and ascertain when they fell due - there is a six-month limitation period under the 1995 Act for "fixed charges" such as rent and service charges. Fixed charges demanded out of time are not payable.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 09/09/2009.

Ms Danielle Drummond-Brassington

CMS Cameron McKenna LLP

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