LegalAI[Space]

A court-ready research memo on forfeiture and relief

A commercial tenant is in arrears and has broken a repairing covenant. The landlord has peaceably re-entered. The note separates the two grounds for forfeiture and states the effect of re-entering without a court order.

Litigation and disputes · Property litigator, supervising partner, counsel-facing associate

Start freeBook a walkthrough
Agents
Research
First draft
A grounded research answer in under a minute; a court-ready note follows from the same matter, unattended.

The problem

Rent arrears and a repairing covenant breach sit under different statutory regimes for forfeiture, and mixing them in a note that goes into a bundle is the kind of error counsel notices. Every authority in a court-ready note has to have been checked, not recalled.

  1. Step 01 of 05

    Ask the research question

    The Research an authority composer chip pre-fills the prompt: relief from forfeiture in each case, whether section 146 applies to the rent arrears, and the effect of re-entering without a court order.

    Matters · 14 Rowan Court, Flat 9 · ResearchSources ranked
    Matter: 14 Rowan CourtEngland and WalesResearch Agent
     
    Prepare for: Court-Ready · Deliver as: Word

    Where we looked

    • 1Your documentsLease, demand, correspondence
    • 2Primary law3 statutes, 1 judgment
    • 3Regulators and the recordNothing needed
    • 4Web searchOff for this question

    Authorities · 4

    • 1

      Law of Property Act 1925, s 146

      c 20
      not yet checked
    • 2

      Housing Act 1996, s 81

      c 52
      not yet checked
    • 3

      Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, s 168

      c 15
      not yet checked
    • 4

      Escalus Properties Ltd v Robinson

      [1996] QB 231 (CA)
      not yet checked

  2. Step 02 of 05

    Read the two regimes

    Section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925 does not apply to rent arrears; it does apply to the repairing covenant, engaging the Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938 gate where the term is long enough.

    Matters · 14 Rowan Court, Flat 9 · ResearchSources ranked
    Matter: 14 Rowan CourtEngland and WalesResearch Agent
     
    Prepare for: Court-Ready · Deliver as: Word

    Where we looked

    • 1Your documentsLease, demand, correspondence
    • 2Primary law3 statutes, 1 judgment
    • 3Regulators and the recordNothing needed
    • 4Web searchOff for this question

    Authorities · 4

    • 1

      Law of Property Act 1925, s 146

      c 20
      not yet checked
    • 2

      Housing Act 1996, s 81

      c 52
      not yet checked
    • 3

      Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, s 168

      c 15
      not yet checked
    • 4

      Escalus Properties Ltd v Robinson

      [1996] QB 231 (CA)
      not yet checked

  3. Step 03 of 05

    Produce the court-ready note

    The Research Agent runs with Prepare for: Court-Ready and Deliver as: Word, on the Thorough tier, covering both grounds separately with OSCOLA citations.

    Agents · Contract Agent · New runMatter: Northgate · senior associate hire

    Agent

    Jurisdiction

    Prepare for

    Deliver as

    Instruction

    What should the agent look for?

    Documents

    Drop a contract, or pick one from the matter

    Also on the matter

    • Offer_letter_v3.pdf2 pages
    • Staff_handbook_2025.docx61 pages
    • Board_minute_14_Aug.pdf3 pages
    Platform model · zero data retention · audit register on

  4. Step 04 of 05

    Read the note

    Numbered paragraphs, neutral citations, case names in italics, a clean separation of law from submissions on the facts.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A

  5. Step 05 of 05

    Verify and sign off

    Nine authorities, nine verdicts. The partner clicks Verify all before the note goes into the bundle.

    Authorities · 14 · Where we looked
    #ReferenceVerdict
    1

    Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd

    [2019] UKSC 32    		not yet checked
    2

    Working Time Regulations 1998

    SI 1998/1833, regs 4 to 5, 10 to 14    		not yet checked
    3

    Coppage v Safety Net Security Ltd

    [2013] EWCA Civ 1176    		not yet checked
    4

    UK GDPR, Articles 6 and 9

    Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/679    		not yet checked
    5

    Employment Rights Act 1996, s 1

    c 18    		not yet checked
    6

    Harlow v Artemis International

    [2008] EWHC 1126 (QB)    		not yet checked

A document, not a transcript.

  • A note separating the rent arrears ground from the repairing covenant ground, each under its own statutory basis.
  • The effect of peaceable re-entry on the tenant's right to apply for relief.
  • Action items naming what to check, including the unexpired term for the 1938 Act gate and the timing of the section 146 notice.
  • Nine authorities with treatment signals such as good law, followed, distinguished or considered.

Authorities it checks

  • Law of Property Act 1925, s.146
  • County Courts Act 1984, s.138
  • Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938
  • Billson v Residential Apartments Ltd [1992] 1 AC 494
  • Shiloh Spinners Ltd v Harding
  • Toms v Ruberry
Every source it may cite

What it does not do

  • It does not decide whether the section 146 notice was served before or after the breach occurred; it names that as the open question the case turns on.
  • It does not file anything with a court. The note is a draft for counsel to work from.
  • Where a proposition rests on the standard form's own wording rather than reported authority, it says so instead of dressing a clause up as a case.

Related

Run this on your own document

Free plan, two seats, no card.
Start freeBook a 20-minute walkthrough