Lease Renewals
Expert representation through the lease renewal process.
Leases for commercial premises will normally qualify as Business Tenancies under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Tenants are entitled to a new lease for the occupied premises under the same terms as the existing lease. Landlords have limited grounds for opposing the grant of a new lease.
Our skilled team have experience of representing landlords and tenants through the lease renewal process. We believe that forward planning and sound professional advice are the keys to maximising the opportunities presented by a lease expiry.
Contacting the tenant
Before serving formal notices it's always worth making contact with the tenant informally to see if they're willing to negotiate. This is the most cost-effective way to deal with a lease renewal without incorporating all the costs of dealing with solicitors. We can act on your behalf to negotiate without unwanted aggravation.
Serving notice
The landlord can serve notice under Section 25 of the 1954 Act, either offering terms for a new lease or citing specified grounds for terminating the tenancy. The tenant can serve notice under Section 26 requesting terms for a new lease. The effective date will fall between 6 and 12 months from the date of the Notice and cannot be before the end of the term stated in the lease.
Landlord & Tenant Act 1954
Should the process of agreeing terms for a new lease go beyond the lease expiry, the tenant can remain under a Statutory Tenancy. Occupation continues on the same terms as the old lease until the property is surrendered or a new lease is completed.
Contracting out
'Contracting out' is a term used to describe an agreement between the landlord and tenant to exclude the tenant's rights of renewal. To be valid, the agreement must be reached before the lease begins and be in a prescribed format. Leases that are contracted out are referred to as being 'outside the Act'. In these cases, planning ahead is vital to prevent complex and potentially costly problems at lease expiry.