Beanby Estates Ltd v Egg Stores (Stamford Hill) Ltd
Landlord sending notice to tenant by recorded delivery — Whether service effected on date of posting or date of receipt — Sections 25 and 29(2) of Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 — Section 23 of Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 — Appeal allowed
The respondent tenant occupied premises under a lease protected by Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. On 7 January 2002, the appellant landlord sent a section 25 notice to the tenant by recorded delivery; this arrived on 9 January. On 8 May, the tenant applied for a new tenancy. A dispute arose as to whether the tenant’s claim had been submitted within the period required by section 29(2) of the Act, namely within four months of the date of service of the landlord’s section 25 notice. If, as the tenant contended, the date of receipt was deemed to be the relevant date, the application was valid. If, as argued by the landlord, the relevant date was the date of posting, the application had been made outside the statutory period. At first instance, the issue was determined in favour of the tenant. The landlord appealed.
Held: The appeal was allowed.
Landlord sending notice to tenant by recorded delivery — Whether service effected on date of posting or date of receipt — Sections 25 and 29(2) of Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 — Section 23 of Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 — Appeal allowed
The respondent tenant occupied premises under a lease protected by Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. On 7 January 2002, the appellant landlord sent a section 25 notice to the tenant by recorded delivery; this arrived on 9 January. On 8 May, the tenant applied for a new tenancy. A dispute arose as to whether the tenant’s claim had been submitted within the period required by section 29(2) of the Act, namely within four months of the date of service of the landlord’s section 25 notice. If, as the tenant contended, the date of receipt was deemed to be the relevant date, the application was valid. If, as argued by the landlord, the relevant date was the date of posting, the application had been made outside the statutory period. At first instance, the issue was determined in favour of the tenant. The landlord appealed.
Held: The appeal was allowed.
The service of documents was governed by section 23 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927. This specified that service could be effected: (i) on the recipient in person; (ii) at the recipient’s premises; and (iii) by recorded delivery. The first two methods implied that the moment of service equated to the moment of delivery, not the time of actual receipt. By implication, therefore, the same factors governed service by recorded delivery. The effect of section 23 was that a notice served under section 25 of the 1954 Act, and sent through the post by recorded delivery, was irrebuttably deemed to have been served. Furthermore, service was deemed to have been made on the date of posting, not on the date of receipt.
Siri Cope (instructed by Pothecary & Barratt) appeared for the appellant; Marie-Claire Bleasdale (instructed by Bude Nathan Iwanier) appeared for the respondent.
Vivienne Lane, barrister
