Forfeiture of Lease

Section 146 sets out the legal process a landlord must follow before forfeiting a lease for breach of covenant, other than non-payment of rent. It requires the landlord to formally notify the tenant of the breach, specify what needs to be done to fix it, and give the tenant a reasonable opportunity to remedy the issue before forfeiture can proceed.

No. A Section 146 Notice is required when the breach relates to something other than unpaid rent, such as unauthorised subletting, property damage, or a breach of trading conditions. If the breach is non-payment of rent, forfeiture can generally proceed once rent is overdue by the period specified in the lease (commonly 21 days), without a Section 146 Notice being served first. We can confirm which route applies once we’ve reviewed your lease.

Our peaceable re-entry service is normally carried out when the commercial premises are closed and no occupiers are present. If the premises are occupied, there is a residential element, or there is a risk of confrontation or dispute, peaceable re-entry may not be appropriate and court proceedings or legal advice may be required. Speak to our team before instructing if there are likely to be people inside the property.

If the former tenant leaves goods at the property, the landlord will normally need to deal with them carefully and in accordance with the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 and any other relevant legal obligations. We can display Tort Notices as part of the forfeiture service, giving the former tenant an opportunity to arrange collection. The landlord should not assume that goods automatically become abandoned simply because the notice period expires, and should take appropriate advice before selling or disposing of them.

Using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) can amount to an affirmation that the lease continues and may waive an existing right to forfeit. The Court of Appeal confirmed this principle in Brar v Thirunavukkrasu [2019] EWCA Civ 2032. If you are considering both CRAR and forfeiture, we strongly recommend deciding which remedy you wish to pursue before taking enforcement action and obtaining independent legal advice where necessary.

We can progress instructions quickly once the lease and circumstances have been reviewed. Where the right to forfeit has already arisen and no Section 146 Notice is required, attendance can often be arranged promptly. Where a Section 146 Notice is required, the tenant must first be given the appropriate opportunity to comply before forfeiture can proceed.

If a tenant disputes the breach, this can affect whether forfeiture by peaceable re-entry is appropriate, particularly if the dispute is genuine and unresolved. We recommend seeking independent legal advice in these circumstances. Our team can talk through your options, but our role is limited to carrying out the enforcement instruction, not advising on the underlying legal dispute.

Where a commercial landlord has a valid right to forfeit and the right has arisen, peaceable re-entry may be available without first obtaining a court order. However, forfeiture is a technical area of landlord and tenant law, and taking action incorrectly can result in the forfeiture being challenged or the landlord losing the right to forfeit.

Absolute Enforcement can manage the peaceable re-entry on the landlord’s behalf, including reviewing the enforcement instruction, arranging experienced enforcement agents, coordinating locksmith attendance, displaying the appropriate notices and securing the premises. This provides the landlord with a clear, professionally managed record of the re-entry and possession process.

Not always. Where a commercial landlord has a valid right to forfeit and the relevant requirements have been satisfied, it may be possible for Absolute Enforcement to carry out peaceable re-entry on the landlord’s behalf without first obtaining a possession order.

We can review the instruction, arrange the enforcement attendance and locksmith where required, secure the premises and provide confirmation of the action taken. Where peaceable re-entry is not appropriate, court proceedings or independent legal advice may be required.

Yes. Non-payment of rent can give a commercial landlord a right to forfeit where the lease contains an appropriate forfeiture or re-entry clause and the right has arisen. A Section 146 Notice is generally not required where forfeiture is based solely on non-payment of rent, although the terms of the lease and circumstances should be checked before action is taken.

Peaceable re-entry is a method by which a commercial landlord exercises a valid right of forfeiture by physically re-entering and securing the premises rather than first obtaining possession through the courts. Our enforcement agents normally arrange attendance when the commercial premises are closed and can coordinate locksmith attendance where required.

Our standard commercial Forfeiture of Lease service starts from £895 + VAT for the first hour, with most standard forfeiture attendances completed within that first hour. Locksmith attendance, where required, is charged separately at £125 + VAT per hour, plus the cost of replacement locks. Complex or operational forfeitures are quoted separately based on the circumstances and resources required.

Forfeiture does not automatically recover outstanding rent or other sums owed by the former tenant. Once possession has been regained, outstanding debt may be pursued separately. Depending on the circumstances, this could involve pre-action debt recovery, obtaining a County Court Judgment and, where eligible, transferring the judgment to the High Court for enforcement.

Yes. Absolute Enforcement provides commercial Forfeiture of Lease services across England and Wales. We can coordinate enforcement agents, locksmiths and, where required, additional services such as security, CCTV, keyholding, inventory services and supervised access following re-entry.

We will normally need details of the landlord, tenant and commercial premises, together with a copy of the lease and information about the breach or unpaid rent. We may also need information about occupation of the premises, goods left on site, access arrangements and any known risks. This allows our team to review the instruction and determine whether it is suitable for our peaceable re-entry service.

Potentially, but this requires careful review before any action is taken.

Where a commercial property includes accommodation above or within the premises and people are living there, the legal position will depend on the lease, the permitted use of the property, who is occupying the residential area and the basis on which they are living there.

Where premises are lawfully let wholly or partly as a dwelling and someone is lawfully residing there, forfeiture by peaceable re-entry may not be available and court proceedings may be required.

Absolute Enforcement regularly deals with mixed-use and complex commercial premises. Before accepting an instruction, we can review the operational circumstances and relevant lease provisions and identify whether the matter appears suitable for our peaceable re-entry service or whether the landlord should first obtain specialist legal advice.

If people are living above or within your commercial premises, contact us before submitting an online forfeiture instruction.

This requires a case-by-case assessment. The fact that a lease describes premises as commercial does not by itself determine whether peaceable re-entry is appropriate if people are actually living within part of the property.

We will want to understand what the lease permits, whether residential occupation is authorised, who is living there, how they came to occupy the accommodation, whether they have any separate tenancy or licence, and how they access their part of the premises.

Where there is any uncertainty about the occupants’ legal status or the landlord’s right to recover possession, we may recommend that the landlord obtains specialist legal advice or a court order before that part of the property is recovered.

Do not attempt to exclude residential occupants or interfere with their access without first establishing the legal position. Contact Absolute Enforcement and we can discuss the circumstances before you instruct.

In some circumstances different parts of a property may need to be dealt with differently, but this cannot be determined simply by whether there are separate doors or access points.

Where commercial and residential areas are covered by the same lease, the lease and occupation arrangements must be carefully reviewed before any peaceable re-entry takes place. The landlord’s rights over part of the premises, the legal status of any residential occupants and their access arrangements can all be relevant.

If the residential occupants are lawfully residing in premises let wholly or partly as a dwelling, court proceedings may be required.

Where appropriate, Absolute Enforcement can work alongside the landlord’s solicitor, dealing with the commercial enforcement operation where it is lawful and appropriate to do so, while any residential possession element is dealt with through the appropriate legal process.

Contact our team before instructing if any part of the premises is being used as residential accommodation.

Where a property contains both commercial and residential accommodation, separate agreements can help make the position clearer if enforcement or possession is required later.

A common example is a pub with flats or residential accommodation above. We regularly see properties where the pub and the accommodation are included within a single lease. This can create additional complications if the landlord later wants to recover commercial rent arrears or regain possession of the pub while people are living upstairs.

Where the residential accommodation is genuinely separate, particularly where it has its own independent entrance and does not require access through the commercial premises, one option landlords may wish to discuss with their solicitor is having two separate agreements: one for the commercial premises and another for the residential accommodation.

This can make future enforcement more straightforward. For example, qualifying rent arrears relating to the commercial premises may potentially be dealt with through Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR), while possession of the residential accommodation can be dealt with separately through the appropriate residential possession and court process.

The correct structure will depend on the individual property and circumstances, so landlords should obtain advice from a suitably qualified property solicitor when the agreements are drafted. However, clearly separating genuinely distinct commercial and residential occupation can help avoid significant enforcement and possession complications later.