Landlord or Tenant Commercial Renewals
The importance of Landlord or Tenant Commercial Renewals
Commercial leases are drafted in all manner of ways. Unfortunately, sometimes they are drafted rather poorly because solicitors are not involved. This can make lease renewals risky.
Whether you are the tenant or landlord, commercial leases always set out the terms under which you occupy or let your commercial property. On signing a lease renewal at the end of the old lease, you can renegotiate the new lease terms to suit both parties.
It is crucial when it comes to lease renewal time that solicitors adequately protect both parties’ positions. The consequences can be dire if not handled by a professional.
Why you want to have a Solicitor skilled in Landlord or Tenant Commercial Renewals
When considering a commercial lease renewal, you will need to know which type of lease you have. We will determine this for you by looking to see if you have a lease with, or without “security of tenure”. This defines how we deal with your lease renewal.
Security of tenure is a right to automatically renew the lease at the end of the term of the old lease if the lease is granted under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954. The 1954 Act provides that the old lease will automatically have security of tenure unless the old lease has explicitly been excluded from the protection of the 1954 Act.
This means that the tenant can, in most cases, force the landlord to give them a new lease at the end of the term of the old lease. However, if your old lease has an exclusion clause within it that states the lease is contracted out of the 1954 Act, it will not have security of tenure.
If you do not have security of tenure, your old lease will end on the term end date specified in the lease. If you are the landlord, you may be prepared to offer your tenant a new lease, but you are not obliged to do so. Therefore, in these cases, the lease renewal process is up to the landlord.
Commercial leases with security of tenure have an automatic right to a lease renewal at the end of the term of the old lease, often becoming contentious in nature. The landlord can only refuse a new lease if one of the grounds under the 1954 Act apply. These include, for example, non-payment of rent.
The landlord or the tenant can initiate the lease renewal process. If neither party starts the lease renewal process, the old lease will continue under the same terms for as long as no one serves notice upon the other. This is referred to as “holding over” period.
If the landlord initiates the renewal, a “section 25 notice” is served on the tenant. The section 25 notice will either state the landlord’s proposed terms of the lease renewal or state a reason why they do not want to grant a new lease. If the parties cannot agree on the new lease terms, either party may ask the court to decide the form of the new lease.
If you are a tenant wishing to initiate a renewal lease, you are entitled to serve a “section 26” notice on your landlord. Again, if the parties cannot agree on the new lease terms, either party may apply to court to decide the terms.
We can help
If you are coming towards the end of your current lease, we can help. Our solicitors are experienced in all types of lease renewals and associated contentious court work.
If you have been searching for commercial property solicitors, then Robinson Allfree can offer you the legal solutions you need.
We have a team of skilled and expert legal professionals who have provided specialist legal advice to hundreds of people throughout Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Margate, Birchington, Deal, Dover, Sandwich, Canterbury, and all other areas in Kent, and the Southeast of England.
If you want to find out more about how we can help, get in contact with us today.
