Tenants entering a new lease should pay careful attention to the extent of the repairing liability imposed on them. Most leases will expect the tenant to keep the Property in good repair and failure to abide with this obligation could result in then making significant dilapidation payments. When negotiating the Read more…
What is a Lease? A lease is a grant of a right of exclusive possession of land for a term of years certain and determinable. The defining feature of a lease is that it confers exclusive possession – that is to say that a person who has been granted a Read more…
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations, 2015 have recently been passed by the government and will come into force on 1 April 2016. The Regulations impose minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) on commercial and domestic premises. The Regulations require that all commercial premises have a minimum Read more…
Tenants require the flexibility of being able to dispose of their interest in leasehold premises for a number of reasons including where business is expanding and tenants are wanting to relocate to larger premises or where business is struggling and tenants are wanting to downsize or simply close their business. Read more…
Buy-to-let owners of leasehold properties and other intermediate landlords will be concerned by a Court of Appeal decision on the liability for repairs to the exterior of a building. Under the terms of the headlease, the freeholder was responsible for keeping the communal areas in good condition, subject to being Read more…
A recent Court of Appeal case illustrates the difficulties that can arise when a business partnership operates from shared premises but does not give full consideration to the legal structure at the outset. The court held that an application for a new business tenancy made by one of the two Read more…
One of the effects of the recent economic climate has been an increase in the number of tenants going into liquidation. Consequently, many landlords have found themselves on the receiving end of a notice of disclaimer from liquidators relating to their property. Responsibility for business rates on an empty property Read more…
Registering residential tenancy deposits Many private residential landlords, particularly those with large tenant portfolios, will be concerned by a recent County Court decision. The court held that, even if the tenancy deposit had been protected at the outset of the fixed term of the assured shorthold tenancy (AST), the registration Read more…
In this month’s Commercial Property update Max Marrison looks at the future of turnover rent leases. Turnover rents are common in the retail sector and enable landlords and tenants to share the risk and reward of a tenant’s business. A turnover rent arrangement usually involves the tenant paying a base Read more…
This month’s commercial property update highlights the practical issues that a tenant should consider when exercising a break clause in a commercial lease. What is a break clause? A break clause can be included in a fixed-term lease allowing either the tenant or landlord to terminate the lease early. Exercising Read more…