Anyone successfully sued Landlord for unreasonably withholding consent to assign

[beneight]

Has anyone or known of anyone successfully taken their landlord to court for unreasonably withholding consent to assign and won the court case?

 

[rach88]

Hi

I don't have any direct experience of a case like this but can give you some examples of cases where tenants have successfully taken action. What are the circumstances - why do you think the landlord has unreasonably refused consent?

As you may be aware if landlords are served with a written application for consent to assign or underlet they have a statutory duty under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1988 to give consent within a reasonable time, except where it is reasonable not to give consent.

You could either apply to the court for a declaration that the landlord is in breach and that the transaction can therefore proceed, or, if the proposed assignee has walked away, you can claim damages for losses suffered as a result of the delay in receiving consent for example, the extra rent that the tenant has had to pay in the meantime. The court may also order the landlord pay punitive damages, for example in Design Progression Ltd v Thurloe Properties Ltd (2004) the judge awarded £25,000 to mark his disapproval of the landlord's tactics. Breaching a statutory duty is a serious matter.

If you are very confident that the landlord's refusal is unreasonable you could assign without obtaining landlord's consent but the proposed assignee may not go along with this as they would be at risk of being ordered to pay damages to the landlord for inducing a breach of contract, if the court finds against you.