ABSTRACT
All leases will contain covenants whereby the landlord and tenant promise to do, or not to do, certain things in relation to the land. The tenant owns the lease, and the landlord owns the ‘reversion expectant on the lease’ – that is, the right to possession of the property when the lease ends. As a basic proposition, a lease will exist when the occupier of land has been granted exclusive possession of the premises. Although the requirement of ‘a term certain’ has been the subject of criticism by the Supreme Court – see Berrisford v Mexfield – it remains an essential ingredient for a lease: the exclusive possession must be granted for a defined and certain period of time. The creation of legal leases depends on rules laid down by statute and, as with all legal rights, there is an emphasis on formality.
