Sometimes a situation arises where a tenant of a retail or commercial Lease wants to vacate the premises and terminate the Lease before the end of the Lease term. The simple answer is that it cannot. The tenant is obliged to see out the Lease.
However, the tenant could raise a dispute with the landlord (real or manufactured) and, for instance, claim the premises are not fit for occupation due to water penetration, leaks, dampness, mould and health risks such that the tenant is unable to carry on its business.
If a landlord agrees that there are such problems then the Lease would require the landlord to fix them and offer the tenant a reduction in rent (even to zero if appropriate) until the tenant can resume occupation.
But if the tenant refuses to pay rent and asserts that the premises cannot be properly repaired, at least for a substantial amount of time, the landlord would have to consider whether it is better to get involved in a full-blown legal dispute or get rid of the tenant and find a new one.
If the landlord decides to allow the tenant to leave early then the tenant has to enter into a Deed by which it surrenders the Lease and the parties give each other mutual releases from claims against the other and mutual indemnities for claims by third parties such as insurers.
April 2022