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Nearly 70 years ago the UK Government recognised the imbalance of power between commercial landlords and tenants and passed the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (the Act), giving most commercial tenants a right of security of tenure. What is security of tenure? The Act grants tenants of business premises (so this would include pharmacy tenants) the right when the fixed term of their lease has ended to remain in occupation of the premises and the right to apply for the grant of a new lease. The landlord can only object to the grant of the new lease of the premises to the tenant, and therefore regain possession of the property on certain grounds set out in the Act. The parties to a lease can contract outside the provisions of the Act and where this is the case, a tenant would not have security of tenure. Most landlords will insist on no security of tenure where a lease is granted for a short term. As pharmacy leases have tended to be granted for longer terms (usually between 10 and 15 years) pharmacy tenants often have security of tenure. The Act sets out strict procedures which need to be followed to both contract outside the provisions of security of tenure and also to exercise the security of tenure rights granted by the Act. Pharmacists should take legal advice before agreeing to a pharmacy lease being excluded from the Act, and also at the end of their lease term whether or not they have security of tenure. If the lease is contracted outside of the Act, advice should be sought on agreeing new lease terms, if the pharmacist wishes to remain, as there will be no right to do so beyond the end of the lease term. If the lease is protected by the security of tenure provisions of the Act, advice should still be sought, as the Act prescribes a formal notice procedure that both the landlord and tenant must adhere to, before a new lease can be granted.