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Section 168: No forfeiture notice before determination of breach

Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 · 2002 c. 15View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 2: Leasehold reform — Chapter 5: Other provisions about leases

A landlord under a long lease of a dwelling may not serve a notice under section 146(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (c. 20) (restriction on forfeiture) in respect of a breach by a tenant of a covenant or condition in the lease unless subsection (2) is satisfied.

This subsection is satisfied if—

it has been finally determined on an application under subsection (4) that the breach has occurred,
the tenant has admitted the breach, or
a court in any proceedings, or an arbitral tribunal in proceedings pursuant to a post-dispute arbitration agreement, has finally determined that the breach has occurred.

But a notice may not be served by virtue of subsection (2)(a) or (c) until after the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the final determination is made.

A landlord under a long lease of a dwelling may make an application to the appropriate tribunal for a determination that a breach of a covenant or condition in the lease has occurred.

But a landlord may not make an application under subsection (4) in respect of a matter which—

has been, or is to be, referred to arbitration pursuant to a post-dispute arbitration agreement to which the tenant is a party,
has been the subject of determination by a court, or
has been the subject of determination by an arbitral tribunal pursuant to a post-dispute arbitration agreement.

For the purposes of subsection (4), "appropriate tribunal" means—

in relation to a dwelling in England, the First-tier Tribunal or, where determined by or under Tribunal Procedure Rules, the Upper Tribunal; and
in relation to a dwelling in Wales, a leasehold valuation tribunal.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.