When a commercial tenant stops paying rent or lets the property fall into disrepair, the landlord turns to you for a plan. There is rarely a single answer — instead a toolkit of remedies, each with its own conditions, procedure and traps. Choosing the wrong one, or exercising the right one carelessly, can cost the landlord the remedy altogether. This lesson gives you the practical map: what each remedy does, when it is available, and how to use it cleanly.
What this lesson covers:
- Forfeiture: The Right and Its Exercise — what forfeiture is, why it depends on a clause in the lease, and the two ways a landlord can exercise it.
- Waiver of Forfeiture — how a landlord can accidentally lose the right to forfeit, and why continuing and once-and-for-all breaches behave differently.
- Forfeiture for Rent and Other Breaches — the special rules for rent arrears, including relief from forfeiture and who can apply for it.
- Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) — the self-help route to seize and sell goods, what it reaches, and its strict procedure.
- Recovering Rent from Former Tenants and Guarantors — limitation periods, section 17 notices, and how guarantor liability works on assignment.
- Remedies for Disrepair — damages and their caps, statutory restrictions, self-help repair clauses, and specific performance.