2. The Leasehold estate

The Leasehold Estate

• capable of being legal as per s1(1)(b) LPA 1925
• inferior to freehold because : endures smaller slice of time- freehold only comes to an end when there is no more heirs to inherit it!
• posessory rights are more limited to owner of leasehold because subject to limitations placed upon it by the landlord. 
• also known as: TERM OF YEARS ABSOLUTE , LEASE AND TENANCY
• BRUTON- made distinction between term of years- which confers proprietary estate and a lease which is merely a contractual agreement. 
• three essential characteristics of Lease defined by Lord Templeman in STREET V MOUNTFORD- 1. A term certain ( certainty of term)
• 2. exclusive posession
• 3. rent- however in Ashburn Astalt v Arnold, deemed no longer an essential aspect of a lease.
• lease will NOT exist without the first two. 
• Certainty of term: must be a fixed and certain maximum duration! as per Lace v Chantler. Provided max duration is known WHEN the lease is granted, it is irrelevant that the lease may in fact terminate earlier. e.g presence of a break clause in the lease
• + A certain start date: Where nothing is specficied, we assume that the lease commences upon tenant taking possession. The start date can be delayed for up to 21 years!- s49- LPA 1925 
• S205(1) (xxvii) LPA 1925- can include a term of less than a year or for a year or years and a fraction of a year or from year to year.
• If term appears uncertain?- courts willing to resolve uncertainty by implying a periodic tenancy where : tenant has taken posession and has started paying rent by reference to a period.
• Prudential assurance case: period implied will be calculated on the basis upon which the rent itself has been calculated, ireesepctive of how it is being paid- martin v smith!
• law regards a periodic tenancy as a lease for a period( the fixed and certain term) followed by a lease for that period and so on until the lease is terminated in an appropriate way- this approach is in by no means automatic and parties intentions are taken into consideration- Javad v Aqil
• recent development in resolving uncertainty: MEXFIELD HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE LTD- supreme court found that an uncertain term should be treated as a lease for life and thus converted into a term for 90 years under s149(6) LPA- reasoning based upon pre 1926 approach in PRUDENTIAL case.
• supreme court went further and expressed clear disapproval for the requirement of certainty of term- suggested it should be abandoned altogether.
• BERRISFORD- the finding of a lease for life would not be possible where the tenant is a corporate body.
• SOUTHWARD HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE LTD- high court declined to find a lease for life as it would have been directly contrary to the parties intentions and fundemental aspects of the agreement. 
• Exclusive posession: This is the ability to exclude all others from the property, including the landlord. Without it, lease cannot exist. Posession of the land would instead be…