Tenants can be choosers

In the case of Thomas v Ken Thomas Limited [2006] EWCA Civ 1504, the tenant, who paid rent on a monthly basis, failed to pay rent that fell due on 1 November 2004. The tenant subsequently offered to pay rent for December. What should a landlord do in such a situation? In the current economic climate it may be tempting for landlords to accept offers like this. However, in doing so, they should be aware that they will waive the right to forfeit the lease for non-payment of the unpaid earlier instalment of rent. As the landlord in Thomas discovered, it was not possible to avoid this problem by purporting to accept the tenant's payment in satisfaction of the November rent arrears when the tenant had made it clear that the payment was made in relation to the December rent.

Breaches of a lease can be either “once and for all” or “continuing”. Breaches of obligations to complete specific acts within a definite and