In Brief - A recent decision of the New South Wales Supreme Court highlights key issues faced where there is a challenge to the valid exercise of an option for renewal.
The recent Supreme Court decision of Kegran Pty Ltd v Warrik Pty Ltd [2018] NSWSC 1357 highlights some of the key issues faced by the parties where there is a challenge to the proper service of notices.
The importance of meeting pre-conditions when renewing a lease
There are a number of pre-conditions that a lessee must satisfy
in order to validly exercise an option to renew. One key
pre-condition is the service of an option notice within the
timeframe specified in the lease.
In circumstances where a lessee fails to fulfil a pre-condition
when exercising an option to renew, the lessor may seek to deny the
right of the lessee to the option lease. Courts have seen an
increase in disputes related to the proper service of notices,
particularly given the rise in email communication and so the trend
towards serving notices via email.
Common objections by lessors seeking to deny the right of a lessee
to an option lease include that:
- the notice was not received on time;
- the notice was not served correctly; or
- there was a prior breach of the lease by the lessee.
Kegran Pty Ltd v Warrik Pty Ltd
In this case the Court ordered the specific performance of an
option to renew, after the lessor challenged the exercise of the
option on the basis that the notice was not properly served by the
lessee.
The option to renew clause within the lease stated that the lessee
would be granted an option lease of the premises provided that, not
less than 6 months before the termination date, the lessee notified
the lessor of their intention to exercise the option. The relevant
clause contained a further condition that the lessee was not to be
in default under the lease at the date of the notice.
The lessee alleged that the option was validly exercised by way of
an email addressed to the sole director of the lessor within the
option exercise period. Relevantly, the notice provision required
that any notice provided to the lessor be:
b) sent to the lessor's facsimile number; or
c) forwarded by prepaid security post addressed to the lessor.
There was also an additional requirement for any notices to be
addressed to the lessor at the address specified in the
lease.
Notably, the lease did not contain a clause identifying email as a
valid method of service.
Service by email, even without a service by email clause?
The lessor's arguments against the notice being validly exercised included that:
- the email was not correctly addressed;
- the lease did not provide for service by email; and
- that the email never came to the attention of the director of the lessor company within the required timeframe.
The Court held that the language of the notice provisions were 'facultative and not mandatory', finding that the only conditions to be satisfied by the lessee in exercising the option were those found within the option to renew clause of the lease.
Court finds lessee has validly exercised option to renew release by email
The Court stated that the relevant notice provisions were
concerned with the subject of notices more generally and were not
to be strictly applied to the exclusion of all other methods of
service. As a result, the Court held that, by way of an email
addressed to the sole director of the lessor within 6 months of the
termination date, the lessee had validly exercised their option
under the option to renew provisions of the
lease.
This case highlights that whether a lessee has validly exercised an
option for renewal can depend on the interpretation of the terms of
the lease when read as a whole. In a different form of lease with
slightly different wording, the decision could have gone against
the lessee (noting that courts generally interpret option to renew
clauses quite strictly).
Although email is increasing as a fast and easy method of
communication, it is important to carefully consider the terms of
the lease to determine whether the benefits of notice via email are
outweighed by the risk of the notice being found invalid under the
provisions of the lease.
Leasing - commercial and retail
Colin Biggers & Paisley
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.