Leasing of Commercial Property

The main Terms of the Lease must be agreed between the Parties to enable an appropriate lease to be drawn up. It must be decided by the parties whether a Rent Deposit will be paid to be held by the Person giving the Lease and returnable at the conclusion of the Leas, provided that the terms and conditions of the Lease have been observed. If the granting of a Lease also includes the sale of a business at the property to be leased, then the provisions contained in Buying/Selling Commercial Properties will also apply.

It is usual for the Landlord to require that the Tenant be responsible for his Solicitors Fees (his Solicitors costs and disbursements for preparing the lease and other incidental responsibilities). The Landlord will often require Bank and Trade References (a letter from your bank giving their opinion as to whether you are in a financially suitable position to take on the lease and references from Suppliers that you have previously dealt with, advising as to your reliability and creditworthiness).

On instructing a solicitor in relation to the preparation of a Lease it is usual for the parties to the lease to have agreed the term of the lease (how long the lease will last), the commencement rent (the initial amount of rent to be paid) and how the rent is to be paid (i.e. by way of standing order or direct debit), the rent review dates (at what stages in the lease the rent will be reviewed, i.e. every 3 or 5 years), whether there will be an option to renew (i.e. whether at the end of the Lease there will be right for the Tenant to enter into a new lease on the property), an Option to Buy (should the Landlord decide to sell the property and usually at full market value) and whether there will be a Break Clause, giving (usually the Tenant but on occasion to Landlord) the opportunity to give up the lease after a certain period of time (a given number of years and usually requiring between one and three months notice of intention).

All leases in excess of 7 years must be registered at HM Land Registry. Please see Buying a Property for details of Registration and the completion of an SDLT form.

Adam Solicitors are experienced in representing landlords and tenants of every type of commercial lease, and can draft leases to suit any situation.

If you are a landlord considering leasing a commercial premises to tenants, whether this be offices, workshop, takeaway, storage, restaurant premises, or any other commercial use, you should have the lease professionally drafted to ensure that you are adequately protected in the future and that your exposure to losing money or having problems is limited as far as possible. This is where we can help with our Lease drafting and negotiation services. We will either draft your Lease from scratch or review any existing draft lease and we will carry out all negotiations on your behalf with the prospective tenant’s solicitors. We will also prepare any associated legal documents such as rent deposit deeds, options, and notices, etc.

We will also assist you where an existing Lease is due to come to an end to help you either negotiate new terms or end the tenancy, as appropriate.

If you are a tenant considering taking up occupation of commercial premises in order to carry out your business, we can offer a bespoke service to you, whereby we will guide you through the various options open to you, for example, whether to take out a lease, a licence or other form of occupation.

We can advise and negotiate on your behalf on matters including rent deposits and guarantees, length of term, break clauses, renewal rights, rent review, assignment and subletting, service charges, repairs, alterations and changes of use, insurance, etc and we will seek to apply the Code for Leasing Business Premises in England and Wales 2007 to ensure good practice.

If you are assigning your lease, whereby you are agreeing to give, or take, the benefit of an existing lease. In this case, the terms of the Lease have already been agreed and cannot be changed (without agreeing the amendments in a Deed of Variation with the Landlord). The rent may have increased from the initial rent agreed at the commencement of the lease (as there may have been one or more rent reviews) and you will have only the benefit of the remaining period of the Lease.

If you are leasing a commercial property and/or business as a landlord or tenant, please contact us in order that we may advise you specifically in relation to your needs and requirements.