LEGAL TIP 91.
A lease agreement can be determined by an Expiration, a Surrender and renewal of existing lease, Obsolescence, Breach of lease terms, Eviction of lessee, Destruction of the leased property, foreclosure of the leased property through mortgage, frustration of the Lessee by the Lessor, Notice to Quit, Compulsory acquisition of the leased property by Government, Court Order, Breach of Statutory building codes and property Laws, Renovation and improvement works, abandonment of lease, And Property demolition.
In a scenario where a dispute had arisen concerning property in a lease agreement, which was only two years into the 10-year term lease agreement between the Lessor and the Lessee. Especially as the property had remained unoccupied, and as a result of which it suffered severe destruction subjected to incessant rain and other vagaries of inclement weather, and misuse, due to reckless abandonment under the Lessee’s care as the roof was taken out resulting in a state of disrepair. The Lessor worried that the property may go into distress, instructed his solicitor to issue a 14 days’ Notice of termination of the lease to enable him to immediately commence the rehabilitation of the property, engage the services of a quantity surveyor for evaluation of the state of the damage, and a Notice of Arbitration as stated in the lease agreement was apt.
A lease is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th edition, page 970 as;
“A contract by which a rightful possessor of real property conveys the right to use and occupy the property in exchange for consideration.
The term of a lease can be for life, a fixed period, or a period terminable at will. Such a conveyance plus all covenants attached to it. The lease agreement (written instrument) memorializes such a conveyance, its covenants, and the piece of real property so conveyed. Thus, it is a contract by which the rightful possessor of personal property conveys the right to use that property in exchange for consideration.
The Court of Appeal in Oteri Holdings Ltd. v. H.B. Co. Ltd. (2021) 1 NWLR P. 64, paras. D-H, (Per Ebiowei Tobi, J.C.A) held;
“The law is well settled on the ways by which a lease agreement can be terminated.
In Helios Towers (Nig.) Ltd. v. Mundili Investments Ltd (2014) LPELR-24608, this court per Abiru, JCA held:
‘It must be stated from the onset that the law governing the determination of a lease agreement of landed property for a term of years is different from the law governing the determination of other types of contract.
The law recognizes that a lease agreement of landed property can be determined in any of four ways; namely
[i] by effluxion of time; [ii] by a surrender of the lease; (iii) by the abandonment of the lease; and [iv] where there has been a breach of covenants, by forfeiture.”’
In the instant case, going by the agreement of the parties, it could be said that the lease agreement was determined by abandonment of the lease; and a breach of covenants.
It is a cardinal rule of interpretation that where words are clear in their meaning, a literal interpretation should be given to them. See; Gana v. SDP & Ors (2019) LPELR-47153 (SC); Ugwuanyi v. Nicon Insurance Plc (2013) LPELR-20092 (SC).
It is worthy of note that a lease is for a three-year term and above, and the reliefs to be sought vary from case to case such as; Recovery of Possession, Damages for Dilapidations, Specific Performance, Termination of Lease, Injunction against Unauthorised Alteration, Recovery of Legal Costs, etc.
LEGAL TIP SERIES 91.