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In this short article we look at the important issue of business leases and security of tenure.
Granting a business lease
A Landlord of commercial property who wishes to grant a new lease to a business tenant should bear in mind that the grant of a new business lease to a tenant occupying the property (even if it’s only part of the property), will fall within the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954; unless the Act is specifically excluded. In fact a business tenant can be afforded security of tenure without even signing a lease – simply by occupying your property.
The Act in broad terms gives protection to business tenants, allowing the tenant to stay in the property at the end of the term and giving them the right to apply for the grant of a new business lease on the same terms (save for rent which will be increased or deceased according to the open market rent on renewal). This is known as security of tenure.
Grounds for refusing a new business tenancy
The Landlord only has a limited number of grounds to refuse to grant a new lease to the business tenant and those grounds must be evidenced. The two most common grounds are:-
1. where the landlord requires the property back either for development purposes, or to occupy himself; and
2. where the tenant has a history of non payment of rent, or not complying with the lease obligations.
You maybe happy to grant security of tenure to your tenant, for example if your property is a long term income earning asset. However, as a tenancy granted on these terms will be renewable it is important that the lease is expertly drafted by an experienced solicitor to ensure it stands the test of time.
Avoiding security of tenure
You can grant a business lease without giving the tenant security of tenure by contracting out of the Act and serving the tenant with a “health warning” notice in the prescribed form. This warns the tenant they are giving up important legal rights. The tenant must then complete a simple declaration or a statutory declaration, depending on when the tenant is to start the tenancy. Specialist legal advice should be sought to ensure the declaration is valid. If contracted out, the lease will determine on the expiry of the lease term. This gives the Landlord greater flexibility and the tenant no security to stay at the end of the term.
It is therefore important to seek legal advice before letting the tenant occupy your property and to ensure the notices, declarations and lease fully protect your interests.
