- overriding lease
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1) A tenancy granted out of the reversion of an existing lease. The overriding lease must be for a longer term than the existing lease that it overrides.For the purposes of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (1995 Act), a former tenant or guarantor may be entitled to an overriding lease. If the existing tenant defaults on payments of rent or service charge due, and the landlord serves a former tenant or guarantor with notice under section 17 of the 1995 Act requesting payment then, if payment is made, the party making the payment is entitled to the grant of an overriding lease, so becoming the direct tenant of the landlord and the immediate landlord of the defaulting existing tenant. If such an overriding lease is granted, it must:• Be for a term equal to the term of the existing lease plus three days or the longest period that will not wholly displace the landlord's reversionary interest.• Contain the same covenants (except for personal covenants) as the existing lease which it overrides.(Sections 19 and 20, 1995 Act.)Related links2) A synonym for lease of the reversion. The term also has a specific meaning in the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995. Under section 17 of that Act, a former tenant or guarantor may be liable to make a payment on behalf of a defaulting tenant. A person who makes such a payment, together with any interest, may request an "overriding lease" under section 19 of the Act. An overriding lease is one of the reversion expectant on the tenancy in respect of which the payment was made, containing similar covenants and granted for a term equal to the remainder of the term of that tenancy, plus three days (except in certain limited circumstances).
Practical Law Dictionary. Glossary of UK, US and international legal terms. www.practicallaw.com. 2010.