Enforceability of Covenants Between Successors in Title to the Landlord and the Tenant

As between the original tenant and the original landlord, there is privity of contract , and all the terms of the lease are enforceable by one against the other throughout its term. For example, an original lessee may be sued for rent by the landlord if an assignee of the lease defaults. 1 The only exception to this rule is on the assignment of a perpetually renewable lease, converted by the LPA 1922 into a term of 2,000 years; here the tenant must give notice of any assignment or devolution of the term, but thereafter ceases to be liable. The recent case of City of London v. Fell (1991) has also decided that an original tenant’s liability for rent does not continue where a lease is extended under s.24 Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.