The important implications of recent case law on the strict interpretation by the courts of break option conditions has been provided by Taylor Wessing.
Friends Life Ltd v Siemens Hearing Instruments Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 382
Summary
The Court of Appeal has held that a tenant's break notice was invalid, as it did not comply precisely with the mandatory requirements of the break clause in the lease.
The decision is further confirmation in a line of recent decisions that tenants must take great care when seeking to exercise a break option. The Court of Appeal has confirmed that break options are "if contracts" and exact compliance with their terms is essential. This decision illustrates that non-compliance with a condition on which the exercise of a break clause depends will preclude its validity, even if it is very minor or trivial in nature.
Further information can be found on th eTaylor Wessing website
> Break Options: Pre-Conditions Will Be Applied Strictly – Express Yourself
