Do I need a solicitor for a lease under 7 years? I’m dealing with the landlord directly and could really use the money towards renovations.
Your commercial lease is the foundation of your business. Would you build on top of insecure foundations?
The rent clause, whilst important, is not the only clause you should pay attention to. A commercial lease will contain many pages of legally binding provisions all of which will have an impact on the use and maintenance of your business premises and affect the sale-ability of your business and ultimately your bottom line.
A badly drafted commercial lease can ruin your business and personal finances when things go wrong as you very little statutory protection unlike in residential leases.
If you do not have experience in negotiating commercial contracts, you may misread or misunderstand the legal terminology or simply miss them altogether.
As the Landlord’s solicitor usually drafts the commercial lease, it will be drafted with a pro-landlord bias. An experienced and competent lease solicitor will go through the lease clauses with you and discuss whether they meet your business needs and expectations. A lease solicitor will use their experience and legal knowledge to amend or remove onerous clauses and negotiate the addition of desirable clauses in line with your business strategy and plan.
Legal fees for your lease and commercial contracts should be part of your business budget. A commercial lease solicitor will investigate the title of the property and the landlord’s power to grant the lease, undertake detailed commercial property enquiries and searches which will reveal any adverse restrictions that affect the use of business premises.
Understandably, commercial lease tenants wish to save on costs when setting up their business as there is always something more pressing to pay for than legal advice and representation. However, the cost of conveyancing for a commercial lease is minuscule compared to the cost of litigation fees if things go wrong.
Common areas of dispute are:
- Dilapidations
- Personal Guarantees
- Asbestos
- Alterations
- Service Charges & Insurance
- Sub Leasing
- Assignment
- Breach of Covenants
- Rent Reviews
- Lease Renewals
Therefore, careful consideration should be given when entering a commercial lease for business premises.
Whether you are a tenant or a landlord, unintended consequences could be avoided if appropriate advice is taken before the grant of a commercial lease.
To discuss any aspect of commercial leases or the commercial rent recovery process feel free to contact ours specialist commercial lease and debt recovery solicitors in Manchester on 0161 820 8888 or solicitor in London on 0208 889 8888 and speak to one of our experienced members in the Leasehold Team.
We will happily provide a free 30-minute consultation on your matter. Give us a call today!
For more information see our guides on:
– Lease Extensions (Flats) (OR DOWNLOAD OUR FREE BROCHURE HERE)
– Leasehold Enfranchisement & Freehold Purchases (OR DOWNLOAD OUR FREE BROCHURE HERE)
– Collective Enfranchisement (Flats)
– Professional Negligence – Leasehold Property
– Right to Manage & Appointment of Manager
– Service Charge & Breach of Covenant Disputes
– Freeholders, Landlords and Management Companies
