ABSTRACT
Before carrying out improvements a tenant must serve notice of its intention to do so on the landlord, accompanied by a specification and plan showing the proposed improvement and the part of the existing premises affected by it (s 3(1) of the 1927 Act). There is no prescribed form for this notice; however, it must be in writing and a letter will suffice (Deerfield Travel Services Ltd v Wardens and Society of the Mistery or Art of the Leathersellers of the City of London (1982) 46 P & CR 132, CA). An example of a notice of intention to make an improvement can be found in Appendix 26. The notice need not actually refer to the 1927 Act, but it should make it clear to a reasonable landlord that the tenant is intending to exercise its rights under the 1927 Act, rather than just asking for consent to carry out alterations under a lease covenant. The notice will not be invalid where some of the work mentioned is not improvement but rather repair work. The specification must contain all the information which the landlord will need so that the landlord can consider during the three-month time period what action it will take.
