Commercial tenant sought a declaration that its lease remained in force after the landlord purported to terminate the lease for alleged non‑rental defaults involving use of areas outside the leased premises.
The court held that the landlord’s termination was invalid because the statutory notice under s.19(2) of the Commercial Tenancies Act was deficient, failed to require monetary compensation for the alleged breaches, and the landlord had waived reliance on the defaults by accepting rent after issuing the notice.
The alleged conduct was also largely condoned for years and was not sufficiently serious to justify forfeiture.
The lease therefore remained in effect and the tenant was entitled to damages for the wrongful lockout.
The quantification of damages was deferred to a later proceeding.
