Shifting Sands: Power and resistance in Landlord-Tenant relationships under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954

Carroll, Emily ORCID: 0009-0004-2746-6078 (2025). Shifting Sands: Power and resistance in Landlord-Tenant relationships under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the impact of shifts in market power on commercial landlord-tenant relationships under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. For over seventy years, the 1954 Act has regulated business tenancies in England and Wales, based on the assumption that, left unchecked, landlords will exploit their tenants' vulnerability at the end of a lease term. Enacted in a post-war context, the legislation was designed to protect tenants in a retail market that is now vastly different from today’s landscape. While small business tenants continue to occupy high streets, the rise of large multinational corporations and private equity-backed occupiers has significantly transformed the commercial leasing environment. Drawing on Blandy, Bright and Nield’s ‘Dynamics of Enduring Property Relationships’, this thesis argues that it is only by incorporating an analysis of shifting power dynamics into this framework can one can fully understand the broader implications for landlord-tenant relationships. Through 55 semi-structured interviews with property professionals, this thesis empirically examined whether the original assumptions about landlord power remained relevant in the current retail market. The data revealed that, rather than the legislation itself, power dynamics are the primary determinant of whether landlord-tenant relationships endure, and leases are renewed. Furthermore, the findings suggest a growing disparity between the commercial terms available to large corporate tenants and those offered to small business tenants, whose economic contributions are often tied to local communities. While the 1954 Act was originally intended to protect small vulnerable tenants, the research indicates that it has, in practice, inadvertently empowered corporate tenants at the expense of small tenants, exacerbating inequalities in lease negotiations.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):