The court held his rejection of the offer was unreasonable taking account of the capital value of the lease and the fact the sublettings caused the landlord no real loss. Landlords faced with a defaulting tenant who offers to make amends should consider the offer very carefully. Meanwhile, the Law Commission 1999 report on the response to its 1998 consultation paper on the termination of tenancies has been wheeled out and a draft bill is expected, possibly not before the next General Election. In general it is only the person whose immediate right to occupy the land is interfered with by the trespassers. However, in the past the courts have sometimes taken a more liberal view.
Squatters usually choose empty land to squat on.
It may be ripe for development, or development may even just have started. Here, Countryside were developers of the land, but did not own it, and nor had they gone into occupation before the squatters. The Court decided they were not 'in possession' of the land, and so were not entitled to an order for possession. Relying on this promise Mr Gillett devoted much of his time and energies to the farm and business. However, when Mr Holt died he did not in fact leave the estate to Mr Gillett.