Humber Oil Terminals Trustee Ltd v Associated British Ports
[2012] EWCA Civ 36 · Court of Appeal · 2012
The question
Can a landlord rely on ground (g) where the business it intends to run is essentially the same business the tenant is running from the premises?
What was held
Yes. Ground (g) asks whether the landlord intends to occupy for its own business. It is no answer that the landlord will simply take over the same trade, nor that the tenant's business will be destroyed.
For a landlord
Ground (g) is available even where you intend to step into the tenant's trade, provided the intention is genuine and you meet the s.30(2) five-year condition.
For a tenant
The commercial unfairness of losing your business to your landlord is not a statutory defence. Focus on intention, capability and s.37 compensation.
The provisions this turns on
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Case summary for general guidance only, not legal advice. Judgments turn on their own facts and later decisions may qualify them — check the primary transcript before relying on any point in correspondence or proceedings.