Facts
- A leaseback agreement was made over a strip of land at the edge of a highway
- The lease was said to last until the land was required for further development
Issue
- Did this constitute certainty of duration for an effective lease?
Decision
- No
Reasoning
- The lease was void
- Prospective certainty is required in the certain duration of a lease
- In order to make an equivalent lease with certain duration, a nominal date should be set far in the future with the option to terminate early
- This case reversed the deviation in Ashburn Anstalt v Arnold [1989], restoring the rule in Lace v Chantler [1944]
- For the other requirements of leases, go to land law notes on leases
