Michael Williams recently represented a landlord at a hearing in the County Court at Central London, successfully defending a claim for continuing letting agency commission by a company that had acquired the business of the landlord’s former managing agent following its administration.
The claimant said it had acquired the original letting and property management agreement by assignment and was entitled to commission when the tenancy was renewed.
Michael successfully argued that the purported assignment was ineffective because the contractual three months’ written notice had not been given; the business acquisition announcement was insufficient to meet the requirements for notice under section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925; and the transfer of contractual obligations required a novation to which the landlord had not consented.
The judge accepted Michael’s submissions, finding that there had been no effective assignment or novation.
The claim was dismissed in its entirety.
The case highlights the need to distinguish assignment from novation and to comply with contractual and statutory notice requirements.