ABSTRACT
To prevent the landlord from gaining possession where he only intends to carry out work on part of the premises, or where the work will be carried out relatively quickly, the tenant has a defence under s 31A(1) of the 1954 Act. This provides that the court cannot hold that the landlord could not reasonably carry out the demolition or other work without obtaining possession if:
(a) the tenant agrees to the inclusion in the terms of the new tenancy of terms giving the landlord access and other facilities for carrying out the work intended and, given that access and those facilities, the landlord could reasonably carry out the work without obtaining possession of the holding and without interfering to a substantial extent or for a substantial time with the use of the holding for the purposes of the business carried on by the tenant; or
(b) the tenant is willing to accept a tenancy of an economically separable part of the holding and either para (a) of this section is satisfied with respect to that part or possession of the remainder of the holding would be reasonably sufficient to enable the landlord to carry out the intended work.
