Tenant applying for new lease of business premises - landlord opposing application on ground of intention of carrying out work of reconstruction - no requirement that work involve load-bearing features

Ivorygrove Ltd v Global Grange Ltd: ChD (Mr Justice Lawrence Collins): 18 June 2003

The freeholders granted a lease of business premises to the claimant's predecessor that was then assigned to the claimant.

Towards the end of that lease, the freeholders granted a reversionary lease to the defendant who, for the purposes of part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, became the claimant's landlord.

The defendant agreed with the freeholders that it would carry out extensive works of refurbishment to the premises which included the demolition of internal partitions, the majority of which were not load bearing, and their replacement in different positions.

The defendant notified the claimant that since it intended 'to demolish or reconstruct' the premises or 'carry out a substantial work of construction on the holding', it would rely on section 30(1)(f) of the 1954 Act to oppose the claimant's application for a new tenancy.

On the claimant's application, the judge held that the defendant could oppose the grant of a new tenancy.

The claimants appealed.

Kelvin Rutledge (instructed by Barnes & Partners) for the claimant; James Thom QC (instructed by Howard Kennedy) for the defendant.

Held, dismissing the appeal, that although the case law referred to demolition and construction of the structure of the building, section 30(1)(f) did not; that it would be wrong to import into the section a requirement of demolition or construction of structural or load bearing features as a condition of applicability; that whether the relevant parts of the premises were load bearing was simply one of the factors to be taken into account; and that, in the circumstances, the judge was entitled to find that the intended works satisfied the conditions of section 30(1)(f).