Sections 24 to 28 of the landlord and tenant act, 1954, provide business tenants occupying premises for the purpose of their business with security of tenure rights. This essentially means that such tenants can simply hold over or remain in the premises at the end of their lease term, or they can seek a new lease from their landlord on substantially the same terms as the existing lease. There are exceptions, a landlord can refuse to grant a new lease to a tenant on one or more of the seven statutory grounds for a refusal and they include the tenant’s persistent non-payment of rent, or breach of other terms of the lease, or most commonly the landlord wanting to occupy the premises themselves or wishing to demolish the premises.
