Annabel Campbell.
A property lease must cover as many eventualities as possible to offer a tenant protection in the event of business disruption. Commercial property solicitor Annabel Campbell explains.
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Published in association with
WHEN your commercial landlord grants you a lease, you can expect to use the property to carry on your business without interruption. However, your landlord may want to carry out works to adjoining property so the lease will set out when and how this can happen.
Unexpected events and problems could also arise which interfere with your use of the property, such as severe weather, a major incident like a fire or explosion or even another pandemic.
If you find that you are unable to carry on your business, you will want to understand your legal position, your rights and your options.
“Commercial leases try to anticipate future events that will affect your right to use the property and set out what should happen,’ said Annabel Campbell, a solicitor in the commercial property team with Borneo Martell Turner Coulston.
“Most of the time this works well but occasionally something will happen that nobody has foreseen. Whatever the situation, the starting point will be what your lease says.”
Your landlord will have a number of obligations under the lease but the fundamental one is the landlord’s covenant for ‘quiet enjoyment’. This means that you should be left to run your business from the property, with limited rights for the landlord to come into your premises.
Linked to this is the idea of ‘non-derogation’, which means that the landlord must not do anything which would interfere so fundamentally with your use of the property that you no longer have what you bargained for.
Your landlord will want the right to carry out works to adjoining property they own and, if your unit is part of a larger building, to those parts that are not let to you or other tenants.
You should have the opportunity to point out any aspects which are likely to be particularly disruptive and your landlord should take reasonable steps to minimise the impact on you and your business.
Your lease will contain detailed provisions about insurance of the property. The usual position is that the landlord will insure the building so that if something unexpected happens and the building is damaged, there will be insurance money to reinstate.
As the tenant, you will want to know that if you cannot use the property, your rent will be suspended until you can go back in. Your lease will usually provide for a period of up to three years during which you do not have to pay rent and the landlord is expected to reinstate the property.
If your unit is part of a larger building, your landlord will probably have obligations to provide a range of services such as heating, lighting, water and possibly lifts or other machinery. In normal circumstances, you would have a claim against the landlord if they failed to provide these services but your lease may have an exclusion of liability for events beyond the landlord’s control.
The law on exclusion clauses is quite complex and, if you find yourself in this situation, your solicitor can explain what rights you have.
Borneo Martell Turner Coulston’s commercial property experts are here to advise you on various legal matters.
For further information, contact Annabel Campbell on 01604 622101 or email
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