Landlords who have acquired commercial property freeholds and intend to serve notices to terminate tenants’ leases should be careful about the timing of the service of such notices.

To be valid, a notice to terminate needs to have been served by the legal owner of the freehold interest. Whilst completion of the purchase of a freehold may have taken place, and the transfer sent to the Land Registry for processing, until the title to the freehold has actually been registered at the Land Registry legal title has not been passed. Up until that point the legal ownership rests with the vendor and only the beneficial ownership has passed to the purchaser.

In these circumstances if there is a danger of missing a break date, or if time for service is pressing for any other reason, it would be wise to make provision in the purchase contract to ensure that the vendor has to cooperate in the service of a joint notice by the outgoing and incoming landlord to ensure that both bases are covered.