ABSTRACT
To be enforceable, the wording of the covenant must be sufficiently clear and unambiguous; if its meaning cannot be ascertained it cannot be enforced. The party seeking to rely upon a covenant must establish that it is in the lease and that their interpretation of its meaning and effect stands up to scrutiny by the courts or tribunals. Occasionally, Acts of Parliament or judicial decisions will provide that particular covenants will be implied into leases, whether they are expressly contained in the lease or not. Many leases provide that the landlord may sue for reimbursement of expenditure in carrying out the tenant's repairing responsibilities in the event that the tenant fails to do so. Such clauses tend to reserve the landlord's right to sue for a debt in such a case whereas the normal remedy for breach of a covenant in a contract is damages.
