ABSTRACT
The court has a discretion under s 33 of the 1954 Act to order a new tenancy for any duration which it thinks is reasonable in all the circumstances, subject to a maximum term of 14 years. In exercising its discretion, the court will usually look first at the length of the current lease as in Betty’s Cafés Ltd v Phillips Furnishings Stores Ltd [1957] 1 All ER 1, CA where a 14-year term was reduced to five years having regard to the duration of the tenant’s previous leases, none of which had ever exceeded a term of eight years.
