A ‘break option’, ‘break clause’ or ‘option to determine’ is a clause in a lease which gives either the landlord, tenant, or both, a right in specified circumstances to terminate the lease before it’s contractual expiry date. The break option will usually define the length of notice to be given by either party in order to operate it and any other conditions. A break clause may also be subject to contractual or statutory financial provisions that need to be complied with in order for it to be legally binding.In addition, it can also be linked to a rent review date and its subsequent operation may make “time of the essence” for the purpose of invoking the rent review provisions within a lease.