- HHJ Hellman decides that the reversion in a flat lease is severed by the grant of an overriding lease.
- Decision has important implications for lease extension claims under enfranchisement legislation.
- Practitioners need to consider issues pending Court of Appeal decision.
Overriding leases of flats (also known as concurrent leases) are becoming increasingly common. These occur where the landlord of a flat let to an existing tenant grants a new (overriding) lease of the same flat to a different tenant, which takes effect subject to the existing tenant’s original lease, ie with the new tenant of the overriding lease becoming the existing tenant’s direct landlord of the flat. This can raise thorny questions for property practitioners, particularly where the tenant under the original lease seeks to exercise her right to a new lease under Pt I, Ch II of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (the 1993 Act).
In the recent decision in Lupin Limited v (1) 7-11 Princes Gate Limited, (2) Princes Gate Partnership LLP (31
