Where a lease makes a covenant an essential term by stipulation (rather than the covenant being inherently fundamental), a landlord's termination for non-repudiatory breach of that covenant is the exercise of a right of re-entry under the lease and requires compliance with s 15(1) of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1884 (Tas). Progressive Mailing House v [name withheld] does not authorise termination under common law contract principles in such circumstances. When considering relief against forfeiture, courts must consider whether the landlord was genuinely acting to secure compliance with the breached covenant or was using the breach to achieve an ulterior purpose. The question whether a comprehensive default clause in a lease may entirely exclude common law termination rights was left open.
The full text is available to signed-in members.