In the current financial climate, many tenants will be looking to exercise break options in leases, to rid themselves of onerous obligations.

Also some landlords will seek to prevent reliable tenants, paying above current market rent, from breaking their leases. A tenant who wishes to do so must comply with all the conditions in a break clause - one of which is usually to pay the rent up-to-date.

A trap for the unwary is that the tenant must usually pay the rent that has fallen due - which, as rent is often paid in advance, may include rent for a period well beyond the break date.

Consider a situation where there is an option to break on 1 April, but rent is payable quarterly in advance on one of the usual quarter days, 25 March. The tenant must pay a full quarter's rent in advance for the period to 23 June, even though the lease terminates on 1 April. The tenant then has the option to try to recover the 'overpaid' rent. However this may be costly and, legally, success is not guaranteed.

Bear in mind also that time is usually of the essence where break clauses are concerned. Therefore, the tenant will have no option but to pay the rent in full by the break date - otherwise the landlord may claim that the break was not validly exercised, leaving the lease in place.

Tenants considering exercising break clauses should, therefore, carefully review their leases.

Also, when taking new leases with break clauses, tenants should ensure that there is express provision for apportionment of rent at the termination of the lease.

Alternatively, tenants should ensure that break dates coincide appropriately with rent payment dates, so the break can be validly exercised without having to pay out a full quarter's rent in advance.

Andrew Wade is a partner of Lawrence Graham LLP, and a member of the Leisure Property Forum