UK leases · Break clauses and rent reviews
Break dates, break notice deadlines and rent reviews, worked out from the lease.
A UK lease says the term runs “from and including” a date, that a break notice must be served “not later than six months before the Tenant Break Date”, and that the rent is reviewed on “the fifth anniversary of the Term Commencement Date”. None of those is a date. Prism reads the rule, works out the date in code, and returns it with the clause it came from, so the arithmetic can be checked in a minute.
What comes back
Sample rows from two leases we wrote for this page: a fifteen-year FRI retail lease from 24 June 2022, contracted out of the 1954 Act, and a ten-year office lease of three floors from 29 September 2022, which is not.
| Date | What it is | How it was found | The clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 December 2026 | Last day for the landlord's redevelopment break notice (retail lease) | Worked out: six months before the Landlord Break Date, 24 June 2027, the fifth anniversary of the term. The window opens 24 June 2026 | “The Landlord may end the Term on the Landlord Break Date by giving the Tenant written notice not earlier than twelve months and not later than six months before the Landlord Break Date.” |
| 29 March 2027 | Last day for the tenant's Break Notice, with the Break Premium (office lease) | Worked out: six months before the Tenant Break Date, 29 September 2027, the fifth anniversary of 29 September 2022 | “A Break Notice is in time only if it is given on or before the date falling six months before the Tenant Break Date, and a Break Notice given after that date is of no effect. Time is of the essence of this clause 10.” |
| 24 June 2027 | First rent review, open market and upwards only (retail lease) | Stated: the fifth anniversary of the Term Commencement Date. The second review is 24 June 2032 and there is none after it | “to the greater of (a) the open market rent at that Review Date and (b) the Yearly Rent payable immediately before that Review Date. The Yearly Rent can never be reduced on a review.” |
| 24 December 2031 | Last day for the tenant's Break Notice (retail lease) | Worked out: six months before the Tenant Break Date, 24 June 2032, the tenth anniversary. The window opens 24 June 2031; a notice outside it is void | “not earlier than twelve months, and not later than six months, before the Tenant Break Date” |
| 28 June 2032 | Dilapidations Deadline (office lease) | Worked out: three months before the Contractual Expiry Date, 28 September 2032. If the break is exercised it is one month before the Tenant Break Date instead | “The "Dilapidations Deadline" is the date falling three months before the Contractual Expiry Date or, if the Term is to end on the Tenant Break Date under clause 10, the date falling one month before the Tenant Break Date.” |
| 23 June 2037 | Contractual expiry (retail lease) | Worked out: fifteen years from and including 24 June 2022 ends the day before the fifteenth anniversary. The lease never states the date | “A period of years expressed to run from and including a date ends on the day before the corresponding anniversary of that date.” |
The rows are from a contract we wrote for this page, not a customer’s. Every result also carries what happens if the date is missed and the page it is on. How often Prism finds these dates is on the accuracy page.
What Prism looks for
Tenant break dates and notice windows
The break date, the last day to serve the notice and, where the lease sets one, the first day. A notice served a day early is as void as one served a day late.
Landlord breaks
Redevelopment and sale breaks, with the conditions the landlord must meet and any compensation due to the tenant.
Break conditions and premiums
Vacant possession, all sums paid, a premium that must travel with the notice: quoted, so you can see what a valid break needs.
"From and including" arithmetic
A term of years from and including a date ends the day before the anniversary. The expiry is worked out that way, and the anniversary is not offered as the expiry.
Rent review dates and basis
Each review date, and whether the review is open market upwards only, indexed with a collar and cap, or the higher of the two.
The 1954 Act
Whether sections 24 to 28 are excluded. A contracted-out lease has no renewal right; a protected one continues under section 24 after the contractual expiry.
Dilapidations and reinstatement
The deadline to carry out repairs and remove alterations before the end of the term, whichever way the term ends.
Turnover rent and service charge
When the turnover statement and any turnover rent are due, and how long the tenant has to challenge the service charge certificate.
What it will not do
Prism returns what the lease states and quotes where. It does not tell you whether a break notice you served was valid, does not value the rent at review, and does not fill in a term the lease leaves out. A period counted in working days is returned with its rule and left for you to date. It is not legal advice, and reminders are best-effort.
Use it from an AI agent
Prism is a remote MCP server. In Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http prism https://prism.parad1gm.com/api/prism-mcpThen ask: “Read this lease and list the break dates, the last day to serve each break notice, and the rent review dates, with the clause each one comes from.” The agent sends the document with prism_review_contract and reads the result with prism_get_contract. Setup for Claude on the web, Cursor, VS Code and A2A agents is on the agents page.
$0.50 a contract for an agent, and the first 3 are free. On the website it is $1 per contract, or $9 a month for up to 50.
Questions
Why is the expiry 23 June 2037 and not 24 June?
Because the term runs "from and including" 24 June 2022 and the lease says a period of years counted that way ends the day before the anniversary. Prism applies the lease's own rule; the anniversary is a common off-by-one it is built to avoid.
Does it check whether I can validly break?
It quotes the conditions (vacant possession, all sums paid, the premium paid with the notice) and dates the notice deadline. Whether you have met the conditions on the day is a question of fact it cannot answer; read the clause it quotes and take advice.
What does it do with a deed of variation?
Send it with amendsContractId, or add it from the lease on the site. It is read together with the lease, so a deed that changes "six months" to "nine months" moves the break notice deadline, and a landlord break the deed deletes is left out.
What comes back for a rent review?
The review date, the basis (open market upwards only, indexed with a collar and cap, or the higher of the two) and the clause. It does not value the rent.
What does it say about the 1954 Act?
Whether the lease excludes sections 24 to 28, quoted. For a contracted-out lease there is no renewal option to report; for a protected lease it notes that the tenancy continues after the contractual expiry until it is ended under the Act.
Will it remind me before the break notice deadline?
For a paid lease, yes: an email 90, 30 and 7 days before each deadline. Reminders are best-effort; put the date in your own diary as well.
Is this legal advice?
No. It tells you what the lease says and where. For a break or a review, read the clause it quotes and ask a solicitor.