TURKS & CAICOS Law and Practice Contributed by: Christopher Smith, Dentons Turks and Caicos
agree the position – eg, some leases may include an absolute prohibition on assignment. To the extent assignment is permitted, the landlord may be able to impose certain conditions – eg, the assignee giving a direct covenant to the landlord to comply with the tenant covenants in the lease or obtaining a suitable guarantee. The landlord may be able to withhold consent in cer - tain circumstances – eg, if there is a material breach of the lease or, in the landlord’s reasonable opinion, the assignee will not be able to comply with the tenant covenants in the lease. 6.19 Right to Terminate a Lease Typically, a lease would provide the option for the landlord to terminate the lease in the event of a mate- rial breach by the tenant (subject to any negotiated cure periods) or the insolvency of the tenant. The land - lord or tenant would ordinarily be given the right to ter - minate the lease if the leased premises are substan - tially destroyed or damaged and not repaired within a specified period. Tenant break options are generally Leases are presented for registration in the prescribed form or any form approved by the registrar. They are accompanied by a statement of truth for the value of the purchase price or other consideration and an acknowledgement of receipt of consideration. Leases are only deemed to have been properly executed if signed by a natural person (for an individual) or, in the case of a corporation, if the common seal is affixed on the lease in the presence of an officer/member of the corporation or, if the corporation does not have a common seal, it is signed by an authorised person. Leases are recorded on the register of title if they are for: uncommon, but could be negotiated. 6.20 Registration Requirements • a specific period of two years or more; • for the life of the lessor or lessee; or • if a lease is for a term of less than two years but contains an option whereby a further term is granted, which would result in a total term exceed - ing two years.
Leases that are for a period of less than two years or that are not compulsorily registrable, but which are capable of being registered, can be registered if they are in a prescribed form, and stamp duty must still be paid even when the lease is not being registered. If the lease is a sublease, every lease superior to that sub - lease should be in the prescribed form and registered in priority to the sublease. For the registration of the lease on the register of title, there is a fee of USD25, and it is usually paid by the tenant. 6.21 Forced Eviction It is common for a lease to contain forfeiture clauses that allow the landlord to evict the tenant. However, the tenant has a statutory right to apply to the court for relief against forfeiture and so the timeframe for the forfeiture process can vary. 6.22 Termination by a Third Party The Islands’ government can compulsorily acquire any land, but this rarely occurs. Compensation is payable, typically at the market val - ue of the interest acquired. 6.23 Remedies/Damages for Breach There are no such statutory or customary limitations on damages, and the usual principles will apply. Secu - rity deposits are common and are typically paid in cash at the start of the lease term. 7. Construction 7.1 Common Structures Used to Price Construction Projects There is no commonly accepted market standard of contract and so parties are free to agree terms as they see fit, with the format and complexity of the contract often being driven by the sophistication of the parties and the type of project. Most larger construction contracts will, however, typi - cally follow a US style (such as the American Institute of Architects), a UK style (such as the Joint Contracts
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