Introduction
In a lease, the business of the tenant is less important than the type of property being let. So our agreements differ with each other through the inclusion or exclusion of terms relating to features of the building, such as those dealing with rights to display signs, rather than by who the tenant may be.
Choose the right lease agreement by selecting the one whose description most closely matches that of your premises.
The law in these lease agreements
These agreements create leases as defined in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (which has since been updated many times). Account has also been taken of:
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the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995
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the Regulatory Reform Regulations 2003
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the Joint Committee's Code for Leasing Business Premises
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(where relevant) the RICS' Code on Service Charges
In balancing the codes with the law and the interest of the landlord, we have followed the codes where reasonable, but have preferred the interest of the landlord where there may be a difference.
Who should draft the lease agreement?
Traditionally, it is the landlord who puts their draft to his proposed tenant. As the owner of the property or the land they can decide the terms on which they let it.
Statute law redresses this imbalance of power to some extent. However, our leases been drawn to prefer the interest of the landlord rather than the tenant.
Terms included in every document
A lease contains many terms. We mention here only those few about which you are most likely to be concerned. If you want more precise information as to the contents of a particular document, please ask us.
We provide the words to include or exclude terms relating to the following in every lease:
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guarantor provision
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transfer or assignment to another party
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sub-letting forbidden
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inclusion of a break clause for premature termination by the tenant
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options for rent reviews
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opt-out of Sections 24-28 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. These sections provide a device whereby a landlord can be sure of getting his premises back when the term expires.
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an extensive menu of tenants' covenants to protect every aspect of the landlord's interest
These are full agreements, drawn to a higher standard than most solicitors would provide. Despite the breadth of options we provide, editing is straightforward, regardless of whether you have prior experience or not of this type of legal agreement.
We provide extensive drafting notes explaining each paragraph, and we send you a guide on how to deal generally with editing and completion.
We also sell a second version of most leases, for professional property developers, solicitors and surveyors. Each contains some additional paragraphs covering more technical points, such as a draft authorised guarantee agreement and a draft agreement for a security deposit.
Registration
Unless otherwise stated, every lease is for a term for any period up to and including seven years. Provided the term is seven years or less, it does not need to be registered at the Land Registry.
Leases over seven years must be registered and stamp duty land tax will apply.
