Sunrose Ltd v Gould
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | LORD JUSTICE WILLMER,LORD JUSTICE DAVIES |
| Judgment Date | 14 November 1961 |
| Judgment citation (vLex) | [1961] EWCA Civ J1114-5 |
| Court | Court of Appeal |
| Date | 14 November 1961 |
[1961] EWCA Civ J1114-5
In The Supreme Court of Judicature
Court of Appeal
Lord Justice Holroyd Pearce
Lord Justice Willmer
Lord Justice Davies
MR. J, BACKHOUSE, instructed by Messrs. David Blank Alexander & Co., (Manchester) appeared for the Appellant (Defendant).
MR. H. HEATHCOTE-WILLlAMS, Q.C., and MR. G. NEWMAN, instructed by Messrs. Kirk Jackson & Co (Swinton) appeared for the Respondents (plaintiffs).
LORD JUSTICE HOLROYD PEARCE; This is an appeal by the tenant of business premises from an order for possession made against him. The question on the appeal is the validity of a notice under section 25(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1954. That section says: "The landlord may terminate a tenancy to which this Part of the Act applies by a notice given to the tenant in the prescribed form specifying the date at which the tenancy is to come to an end (hereinafter referred to as the date of termination')."
Subsection (2) provides; "Subject to the provisions of the next following subsection, a notice under this section shall not have effect unless it is given not more than twelve nor less than six months before the date of termination specified therein."
The tenant held premises for a five-year term due to end on 5th May, 1961. By the provisions of Section 24, that tenancy would continue in force until it was properly terminated by the landlord under the Act. The disputed notice was dated 12th January, 1961, and was served by the landlord on the tenant. The learned judge held that it was valid.
The document is headed "Landlord and Tenant Act, 1954. Landlord's notice under the Act to terminate a business tenancy."It is in the form prescribed by the Act. The relevant details are typed into the blanks contained in it. The landlord's name and address are typewritten into the blanks intended for them. There follow the printed words "landlord (Note 7) of the above-mentioned premises, hereby give you notice terminating your tenancy on the - blank - (into which is typed "15th day") of - blank - (into which is typed "July"), 196 - blank - (Note 1).
No evidence was called. On the back of the form were the various notes. Note 1 set out the provisions of Section 25(2) relating to the length of notice required by the Act. From Note 1 it was clear that the intended date must be the 15th July next after the date of the notice namely 15th July, 1961. It reads: "Under the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1954, a tenancy of premises to which Part II of the Ac applies continues until it is brought to an end in accordance with the Act. One of the ways in which it can be brought to an end is by a landlord's notice to terminate the tenancy. As a general rule, that Notice must be given not more than 12 nor less than 6 months before the date specified in it for the termination of the current tenancy of the premises. This date must not be earlier than the date on which apart from Part II of the Act the current tenancy would expire or could be terminated by notice to quit given by the landlord on the date of the Notice."
The notes are inserted pursuant to the Statute. Section 66(2) provides: "Where the form of a notice to be served on persons of any description is to be prescribed for any of the purposes of this Act, the form to be prescribed shall include such an explanation of the relevant provisions of this Act as appears to the Lord Chancellor requisite for informing persons of that description of their rights and obligations under those provisions."
Regulation 4 of the Landlord and Tenant (Notices) Regulations, 1957, made under the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1954, says: "The forms in the appendix to these Regulations, or forms substantially to the like effect, shall be used for the following purposes, that is to say… (vii) notice under the provisions of Section 25 of the Act, being a notice terminating a tenancy to which Part II of the Act applies, shall, unless it contains a copy of the certificate given under the provisions of section 57, 58 or 60 of the Act, be in Form 7."
Form 7 is in exactly the same terms as the printed form of termination which was served in this case and has Note 1 on the back in the same terms as the Note 1 in this case.
Admittedly if the tenant looked at the note on the back, it would be clear that the only possible year was 1961. But Mr. Back house, in a very full and careful argument contends that the date is not "specified" in accordance with Section 25(1) since to specify implies certainty and exactitude; and that the giving of a formula does not comply...
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Mannai Investment Company Ltd v Eagle Star Life Assurance Company Ltd
...the commencement date would therefore have been effective. The principle is that that is certain which the context renders certain: Sunrose Ltd. v. Gould [1962] 1 W.L.R. 55(2) The question is not how the landlord understood the notices. The construction of the notices must be approached ob......
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Mannai Investment Co. v. Eagle Star Life Assurance Co., (1997) 215 N.R. 321 (HL)
...20, 83]. Delta Vale Properties Ltd. v. Mills, [1990] 1 W.L.R. 445 (C.A.), refd to. [paras. 21, 32, 45, 89]. Sunrose Ltd. v. Gould, [1962] 1 W.L.R. 20 (C.A.), refd to. [para. Reardon Smith Line Ltd. v. Hansen-Tangen et al., [1976] 1 W.L.R. 989 (H.L.), refd to. [paras. 45, 81]. Norwegian Amer......
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...nothing to do with failure to give notice in accordance with a prescribed form. The other decision relied upon by the appellant was Sunrose Ltd. v. Gould (1962 1 W.L.R. 20), and that, it is true, did deal with non-compliance with the requirement of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1954, Section......
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