Landlords must give their consent to leaseholders in certain circumstances, such as the keeping of pets and making alterations to the property.
Liz Rowen, Legal Director and Head of the Residential Property Management team at UK-top 200 Yorkshire law firm Keebles LLP, explains how to deal with consent and why it should be given promptly.
In certain circumstances the leaseholder may have to obtain the consent of their landlord or management company before they carry out a certain activity. These are often referred to as qualifying covenants.
Qualifying covenants come in a number of forms but typically relate to the dealing of the property such as what happens on a sale, alterations and the keeping of pets. Often, such covenants provide that consent will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
Dealings
Where a lease sets out that a landlord’s consent to assignment or underletting is required, there is some statutory protection for them in the form of Sections 1 and 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 (LTA 1988).
Under this act, a landlord has a duty to give consent, provide the leaseholder with a written notice of their decision and pass on any application to appropriate people.
Reasonable time
Section 1(3)(A) LTA 1998 also sets out that where an application of consent is served, the landlord then owes a duty to the tenant to respond ‘within a reasonable time’. What is deemed to be a reasonable time will vary from case to case and will depend on the facts of each one, but the number of court cases would suggest that a landlord should be responding in a matter of days rather than months. Clearly more complex requests or transactions will warrant more time, but leaseholders should be responded to as quickly as possible when consents in relation to dealings are required.
Similarly, where a lease provides for the landlord’s consent, that consent should not unreasonably be withheld. Customer service is key here and therefore acknowledging the receipt of a request and having a time frame in which to deal with it is important.
If after the submission of a request for a consent, the leaseholder is not responded to in a timely fashion, they may take the view that silence equates to consent being unreasonably withheld.
The leaseholder may then look to apply to the county court seeking a declaration that consent has been unreasonably withheld. Court proceedings can be time consuming and costly and therefore it is best to avoid them where possible.
Clearly there are circumstances where a landlord may wish to withhold consent and, in these cases, we suggest that detailed reasons for withholding it are sent as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence and therefore a prompt and clear response should always be given.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues above or have any other questions around how Keebles can help you, contact the firm’s Residential Property Management team today.
As leading experts within the sector, we understand the services that you require, and we work with you at every stage to achieve the right outcome. We pride ourselves in our expertise within the field but also going above and beyond for our clients and the positive partnerships we have with the people we work with. Not only do our range of services make us your ideal legal partner, our Residential Property Management team will guide you through every step of the way.
