Forfeiture

Forfeiture action enables a landlord to re-enter their rented property following a breach by the tenant and in turn, terminates the lease. In forfeiting the lease, a landlord will need to be clear on the basis for doing so and can quite often rely on specific wording in the lease in doing so.

Care should be taken before attempting to forfeit a lease and a good understanding of the procedure is helpful before taking the step of forfeiting a lease.

If the right to forfeit arises, a landlord must follow the statutory notice procedure before the lease can be terminated. Apart from in relation to rent arrears, a Section 146 Notice must be served on the current tenant giving them an opportunity to remedy the breach.

We can assist landlords in:

1. Drafting the Section 146 Notice.
2. Commencing forfeiture proceedings.

We can assist tenants with the right to apply for relief from forfeiture via a court application.