Mark Pawlowski considers whether further reform of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is needed
It has been over 60 years since the enactment of part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Since then, there have been two revisions of the legislation. The first, in 1969, made limited amendments, including the introduction of interim rents (see the Law of Property Act 1969), and the second, under the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003, introduced more radical changes, particularly in relation to contracting out, notices, and interim rents. To what extent, however, would further changes improve the mechanics of the statutory code governing commercial lease renewals?
Contracting out
One of the major changes introduce...