In 1937, High Trees House leased a block of flats in Battersea from Central London Property Trust at £2,500 a year. The war emptied many flats, and in January 1940 the landlord agreed in writing to accept £1,250. Nothing was given in return, and no end date was set.
In 1945, with the flats full again, the landlord sought the full rent. In 1946, Mr. Justice Denning held that full rent was due from mid-1945. He added that the landlord could not have claimed the full rent for the war years: “I am satisfied that a promise such as that to which I have referred is binding.”