In the matter of Nicholas Mark Jones
[2023] EWHC 1359 (Ch)
Sunset Limited & Anor v Abdulla Al-Hindi
5 October 2023
[2023] EWHC 2443 (Ch)
High Court
Landlords tried to bankrupt someone for unpaid rent, but they hadn't given the proper address for receiving notices beforehand, so the court said the debt wasn't valid and threw out the case. Giving the address later didn't fix the problem.
Key Facts
- •Bankruptcy petition presented against Abdulla Al-Hindi by Sunset Limited and Morville Limited on 23 June 2022 for unpaid rent (£248,750) of four properties.
- •Petition based on failure to comply with statutory demands dated 29 March 2022.
- •Mr. Al-Hindi disputed subletting and the petitioners' landlord status, raising questions about service of section 48 notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.
- •ICC Judge Prentis allowed Mr. Al-Hindi to argue: (i) strike-out application; (ii) section 48 defence; (iii) unstamped tenancy agreements.
- •Tenancy agreements listed addresses in Jersey, not England and Wales, as required by section 48(1) of the 1987 Act.
- •A section 48 notice with an English address was served on 6 February 2023, after the petition was filed.
Legal Principles
Landlord must furnish tenant with an English/Welsh address for service of notices (including proceedings).
Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 48(1)
If a landlord fails to comply with section 48(1), rent is not due before compliance.
Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 48(2)
A creditor's petition can only be presented if the debt is due at the time of presentation.
Insolvency Act 1986, sections 267(2)(b), 268
Providing a section 48 notice after petition presentation doesn't retrospectively validate a previously invalid debt.
Case law interpretation of Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 48 and Insolvency Act 1986
Outcomes
Bankruptcy petition dismissed.
The debt was not due at the time the petition was presented because the landlords had not complied with section 48(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. The subsequent service of a section 48 notice did not cure this defect.