Personal break rights lost on assignment

More than 14 years after the commencement of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, the iniquities of original tenant liability are still the subject of sustained attacks in the courts. Linpac Mouldings Ltd v Aviva Life [2010] EWCA Civ 395 is one such example - and hardly surprising too, given that the "original" liability of the tenant in this case (actually, a liability of an assignee under a direct covenant given at licence to assign) will endure until 2070 in relation to 99 year leases at rack rents. The rents exceed £500,000pa. It is little wonder the tenant took this case to the Court of Appeal in an attempt to allow Linpac to exercise a personal break right even though Linpac had assigned the leases to a third party. Perhaps not surprisingly, but also very painfully, the appeal failed. Full consideration is given in this month's CPI Update to be published at the end of this week.