Oral variation to written contract
Written contracts can be varied orally post-signature unless they specifically state to the contrary.
The case of MWB Business Exchange Centres v Rock Advertising illustrates the point.
A property landlord was found by the Court of Appeal to have wrongfully excluded a tenant who was in rent arrears, having earlier orally agreed to stay its hand.
The tenant, who was about £12,000 in arrears of licence fees and other charges, was locked out of its serviced offices by the landlord. The latter’s claim to payment of the arrears was upheld by a judge and the tenant’s counterclaim that it had been entitled to remain in occupation of the premises was rejected.
In upholding the tenant’s challenge to that decision, however, the Court found that an oral agreement by which the landlord accepted that payment of the arrears could be rescheduled and that the tenant could remain in occupation in the interim was binding on both parties.
The tenant successfully argued that there was nothing in the licence agreement which precluded its oral variation at a later date. Its agreement to pay £3,500 of the debt straight away, and to make arrangements for payment of the arrears in full over time, was sufficient consideration to make the oral variation enforceable.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Plumbing and heating for sustainability in new properties
Technical Engineer runs through changes in regulations, innovations in materials, and product systems.
Awareness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
What CBAM is and what to do about it.
The new towns and strategic environmental assessments
12 locations of the New Towns Taskforce reduced to 7 within the new towns draft programme and open consultation.
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.
The changed R&D tax landscape for Architects
Specialist gives a recap on tax changes for Research and Development, via the ACA newsletter.
Structured product data as a competitive advantage
NBS explain why accessible product data that works across digital systems is key.
Welsh retrofit workforce assessment
Welsh Government report confirms Wales faces major electrical skills shortage, warns ECA.
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.
Embedding AI tools into architectural education
Beyond the render: LMU share how student led research is shaping the future of visualisation workflows.
Why document control still fails UK construction projects
A Chartered Quantity Surveyor explains what needs to change and how.
Inspiration for a new 2026 wave of Irish construction professionals.
New planning reforms and Warm Homes Bill
Take centre stage at UK Construction Week London.