IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Diarmuid Mawe, Craig Kenny, Katelin Toomey and William Fogarty, Maples Group
6.18 Right to Assign a Leasehold Interest
35 years. Any residential property for lease must meet certain standards under the Hous - ing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. The LTA govern leases of industrial, office, retail or hotel space. 6.15 Effect of the Tenant’s Insolvency Commercial leases usually include a provision entitling a landlord to terminate a lease by way of forfeiture if the tenant becomes insolvent. If the obligations of the tenant under the lease are guaranteed by a guarantor, the guarantor may be required to take a new lease on the same terms as the previous lease for the length of the term remaining. 6.16 Forms of Security to Protect Against a Failure of the Tenant to Meet Its Obligations Normally, where a tenant’s covenant strength is less than that required by a landlord, the landlord will seek a guarantor for the obligations of the tenant (or a bank guarantee or cash deposit). 6.17 Right to Occupy After Termination or Expiry of a Lease Where a commercial tenant has been in con - tinuous occupation for a minimum period of five years, it will obtain a statutory right to a new tenancy unless it has renounced its statutory rights. A lease term will expire automatically and so, while a landlord is not required to serve notice on a tenant to ensure the tenant vacates a premises, in practice, where a deed of renuncia - tion has not been executed by a tenant, a land - lord will be in contact with the tenant to arrange an orderly yield-up of the premises and ensure compliance by the tenant with the covenants in the lease and, in particular, with the repair and yield-up obligations.
Usually, the provisions of a commercial lease contain restrictions on a tenant’s right to assign or sublet the lease without the landlord’s prior written consent. Under the LTA, a landlord can - not unreasonably withhold consent to the assign - ment or subletting of the entirety of a premises; this provision overrides the contractual terms of any business lease. The assignment or sublet - ting of part of a premises is usually prohibited under the terms of a commercial lease. 6.19 Right to Terminate a Lease Generally, a commercial lease is terminated by the expiry of the term or the exercise of a break option, or by agreement between the landlord and the tenant. Usually, a commercial lease contains a re-entry clause, which entitles a landlord to forfeit the lease where the tenant breaches an obligation. Forfeiture is an equitable remedy and can be effected without a court order, if done peace - ably; however, forcible re-entry is a criminal offence. The landlord should seek an ejectment order from the court if the tenant remains in occupation and resists re-entry by the landlord. 6.20 Registration Requirements A commercial lease for a period in excess of one year is required to be in writing but need not be executed as a deed. However, it is advisable to have a lease executed as a deed. Leases can be registered in the Registry of Deeds, although this practice is no longer wide - spread. Leases with a term in excess of 21 years should be recorded with the Land Registry. A new lease - hold folio will be opened in respect of the lease
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