buying a moneypit?

[rommelranner]

Hi, I wonder if you can advise me on the legalities of this:
I have the option to buy the rest of a lease on a commercial property. However, the current lessee has recently been to court with the landlord to iron out the service charges value, the judge found in favour with the landlord and ordered the lessee to pay in full within 14 days. This has now elapsed and the landlord has now put me off of the purchase saying that they have the right to forfeiture of the lease even if it is ours! Can this happen? if we pay the landlord the outstanding debt as part of the purchase price?

Please help!

Thanks :confused:

[Editor]

The landlord can apply the remedy of forfeiture (for now, this is under review) if the lease contains the appropriate clause and if the tenant is in appropriate breach - usually rent arrears.
When the landlord applies this remedy the lease is brought to an end, subject to the tenant's appeal - the tenant can buy his way back in by paying all costs and arrears.
There are pros and cons to this from the landlord's perspective, a course not to be taken lightly.
If you have paid off all arrears and you're no longer in breach then I don't see how the landlord can apply this remedy once you take over the lease obligations.