Leasehold Reform Act 1967

14 Obligation to grant extended lease.

(1) Where a tenant of a house has under this Part of this Act a right to an extended lease, and gives to the landlord written notice of his desire to have it, then except as provided by this Part of this Act the landlord shall be bound to grant to the tenant, and the tenant to accept, in substitution for the existing tenancy a new tenancy of the house and premises for a term expiring fifty years after the term date of the existing tenancy.

(2) Where a person gives notice of his desire to have an extended lease of a house and premises under this Part of this Act, then unless the notice lapses under any provision of this Act excluding his liability, there shall be borne by him (so far as they are incurred in pursuance of the notice) the reasonable costs of or incidental to any of the following matters:—

(a) any investigation by the landlord of that person's right to an extended lease ;

(b) any lease granting the new tenancy ;

(c) any valuation of the house and premises obtained by the landlord before the grant of the new tenancy for the purpose of fixing the rent payable under it in accordance with section 15 below.

(3) A tenant shall not be entitled to require the execution of a lease granting a new tenancy under this section otherwise than on tender of the amount, so far as ascertained,—

(a) of any sums payable by way of rent or recoverable as rent in respect of the house and premises up to the date of tender; and

(b) of any sums for which at that date the tenant is liable under subsection (2) above ; and

(c) of any other sums due and payable by him to the landlord under or in respect of the existing tenancy or any agreement collateral thereto;

and, if the amount of any such sums is not or may not be fully ascertained, on offering reasonable security for the payment of such amount as may afterwards be found to be payable in respect of them.

(4) This section shall have effect notwithstanding that the grant of the existing tenancy was subsequent to the creation of a charge on the landlord's estate and not authorised as against the persons interested in the charge; and a lease executed to give effect to this section shall be deemed to be authorised as against the persons interested in any charge on the landlord's estate, however created or arising, and shall be binding on them:

Provided that, where the existing tenancy is granted after the commencement of this Part of this Act (whether or not it is, by virtue of section 3(3) above, to be treated for other purposes as forming a single tenancy with a previous tenancy) and, the grant being subsequent to the creation of the charge on the landlord's estate, the existing tenancy is not binding on the persons interested in the charge, a lease executed to give effect to this section shall not by virtue of this subsection be binding on those persons.

(5) Where a lease is executed to give effect to this section, and any person having a charge on the landlord's estate is by reason thereof entitled to possession of the documents of title relating to that estate, the landlord shall within one month after execution of the lease deliver to that person a counterpart of it duly executed by the tenant, and the instrument creating or evidencing the charge shall apply in the event of his failing to deliver a counterpart in accordance with this subsection as if the obligation to do so were included in the terms of the charge as set out in that instrument.

(6) Where under a lease executed to give effect to this section the new tenancy takes effect subject to a subsisting charge on the existing tenancy, and at the time of its execution the person having the charge is by reason thereof entitled to possession of the documents of title relating to the existing tenancy, then he shall be similarly entitled to possession of the documents of title relating to the new tenancy and the tenant shall within one month of the execution of the lease deliver it to him, and the instrument creating or evidencing the charge shall apply in the event of the tenant failing to deliver the lease in accordance with this subsection as if the obligation to do so were included in the terms of the charge as set out in that instrument.

(7) A landlord granting a lease under this section shall be bound to take such steps as may be necessary to secure that it is not liable in accordance with the proviso to subsection (4) above to be defeated by persons interested in a charge on his estate; but a landlord is not obliged, in order to grant a lease under this section, to acquire a better title than he has or could require to be vested in him.