Been here 11 years... no lease... new landlord wanting to put rent up...

[lisaclaim]

Hope someone can give us some advice please

 

My colleague/boss, who I have worked with now for 4 years has had our office property for over 11 years. The original landlord had an agreement with him, no lease! apart from verbal of a fixed amount and said that he would never put up. This has gone on for over 11 years with no increase. He originally used to pay him by a rent book of which he still has. After a couple of years an Agent took over collection of the rent and my boss continued to pay the fixed amount with no problems first by rent book and then by Standing Order (5 years ago). The Agents are also residing in premises by the same landlord. My boss has maintained the property inside, including putting in new windows and a door (although no PVC)! plus dealing with the damp, etc., over his time here.

 

A year and a half ago, unfortunately the Landlord died and it was all passed on to his daughter. About 6 months ago we found at that the daughter had sold the properties to the Agent of whom we had continually paid the rent to. A couple of weeks ago the new Landlord, even though we have still not got a lease! has given us a lease (not signed yet) with a rent increase for a term of 2 years after which the rent will be reviewed again. The rent increase is 90%.

 

My boss is reluctant to pay as his verbal agreement with the previous landlord, he feels let down!

 

Do we have any grounds on no accepting the rent increase (because he has been here for over 11 years and paid the same amount for 11 years! with no increase whatsoever!) or for improving the property which needs central heating, UPVC windows and doors, etc.LOL

 

Hope that makes sense and sorry so long winded but just wanted to provide the facts.

 

Any questions or replies would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read and responding.

Lisa

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

 

Lisa,in reply to your post:

 

1.Your boss should contact a chartered surveyor that is an expert in Commercial Rent Reviews & Lease Renewals.Hopefully to:

 

a.get the rent reduced.

 

b.compel landlord to carry out his duties.

 

2.To obtain details of a surveyor in the area of the country that you are based,visit the following website:

 

RICS - Find a Surveyor

 

Then Select the Option:

 

Commercial Rent Reviews & Lease Renewals

 

ADDITIONAL USEFUL INFORMATION....

 

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Website:

 

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

 

Telephone & Fax Nos.:

 

Tel:0870 333 1600

Fax:0870 334 3811

 

Finally,I would suggest that your boss:

 

1.DOES NOT sign the agreement until obtaining advice from the surveyor and getting him/her involved in getting the rent reduced etc.Also,the surveyor is the best person to advise your boss what amount of rent he should be paying in the meantime.

 

2.takes note that failure to pay the rent could potentially enable the landlord to forfeit(terminate) the lease.However,if he is appealling the increase there should be proper ways of dealing with it.Again the best person to ask is the surveyor and possibly in this case a solicitor once the surveyor takes on the case for your boss.

 

3.has any quotes for the surveyor and/or the solicitor costs made in writing to avoid any potential disputes further down the line.

 

Anyway,I hope you find this information useful.

 

If you have any questions,just ask.

 

Keep us posted.

 

All the best!

[Guest S J]

They need a solicitor rather than a surveyor

[Nightmare4banks]

To clarify what I have stated without going around in circles and potentially confusing this lady - Lisa:

 

When you buy or rent a property which professional gives a rent/valuation assessment and gets involved in rent appeals etc?The answer clearly is a surveyor/valuer governed by The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and NOT a solicitor.

 

However,a solicitor could/would be hired to check the terms of the lease.As this is a matter involving the terms and conditions between the Landlord & the Tenant such that they comply with The Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 governing commercial agreements setting out clearly the duties and obligations on each party.

[Guest S J]

That hardly clarifies anything other than a u-turn...as I said before, these people need a solicitor...not a surveyor.

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

 

Lisa - I have just come across a very useful website that your boss could read through and gain a fair amount of information and possibly contact the company if he desires to do so:

 

Find local Chartered Building Surveyors for Rent Review surveyor advice survey

 

Also,Lisa please note:

 

1.I have personally witnessed commercial leases in the past.

 

2.If the need arises PM me later to look through the lease paperwork for your boss and highlight certain crucial points for him before he sees a solicitor.Although in reality it is not compulsory to have a solicitor as far as the leaseholder is concerned.

 

3.The lease can be drafted by the landlord's solicitor and the leaseholder signs it,pays reasonable landlord's solicitor's costs.Regarding the last lease I personally witnessed,the leaseholder was charged only £125 in landlord's legal fees.This was less than 12 months ago.

 

If you need any more help,just ask.

 

Keep us posted.

 

All the best!

 

Also,SJ may desire to gain further education regarding this topic here too before posting again.No offence intended in any shape or form.

[Guest S J]

Thanks for the advice...although the word solicitor still keeps appearing in your posts....you seem determined to remain ignorant of the fact that the real issues are not just the rent but issues which include the terms of the lease, covenants (implied or otherwise) etc.

 

I would sincerely hope that the poster doesnt suffer and detriment or disadvantage from having visited this forum....

[Nightmare4banks]

SJ I really think you need to read the posts carefully or have your eyes tested.

I think you should go to Specsavers!

 

To be perfectly blunt with you,having read your posts in response to my posts or other folks that attempt to assist other forum members,I have found your posts to be a combination of rude in content,petty and aggressive without any real benefit to anyone and as I mentioned before HINDERING!

 

At the end of the day,if this forum was so appalling or misleading as you are implying,folks would not have claimed successfully such large sums of money or obtained redress against all types of companies and landlords etc.This is because the folks here really want to assist each other and have only one common goal

and that is to help each other and all at no cost to one another.

 

Mods,Sorry but now and again one has to speak one's mind and on my part this matter is closed once and for all.

[Guest S J]

It seems to me that certain types wish to make posts and have everyone accept what they say as being the final position or authority on the point. When anyone expresses a different view or challenges what has been said then there is this display of afront...without any aforethought as to whether there is anything to the alternative view. I'm sure that approach is fine for lost sheep. There are people who use such forums and place a significant degree of faith in what is written..especially by those who hold titles... and claim to be knowledgable on matters.

 

It would help if you could point to the posts or comments in my post which you claim are rude, a hinderance, aggressive...or should everyone just accept that is also true because you have said it...

 

Furthermore, I make no reference to the implication of any misleading, unless you can point to it...if not, perhaps you may wish to consider a visit to specsavers.

 

Try not to fool yourself about large reclaims of charges....that issue has been a well settled area of law since the 1800's if not longer. This site hasnt established or created any new precedents on ths point. From what I have read its more likely that people have been successful with claims inspite of rather than because of....

 

I'll go to Spec Savers but what will you do about your shortcomings....

[demon_x_slash]

Don't worry, N4B - it's just because someone took SJ's teddy away when s/he was small(er). I don't think it's anything personal at anyone - s/he just seems to like nipping at people.

[Nightmare4banks]

demon_x_slash,

 

Possibly true about the teddy! Don't know if its personal or not.Probably not as

the trend seems to suggest that any poster who helps is rubbished and thus

a potential target.

 

Personally,I say what I think if and when I think it is justified to comment and its all then forgetten as I have far more pressing important issues in my life ongoing at the moment.

[barracad]

They need a solicitor rather than a surveyor

 

S J - as usual, you have given input which would probably be more helpful if you explained why you believe what you do instead of just expecting people to listen to you regardless.

 

Lisa - You will have to make your own mind up as to whose advice you choose to follow. Clearly, a surveyor is in a better position to advice what is fair rent than a solicitor would be. However, as Nightmare4banks has explained, you may well need a solicitor at some point.

 

When using a forum like this, it can be difficult to work out which advice to follow, but Nightmare4banks has given some good advice and explained why you need to follow the steps outlined. S J has given some advice which is difficult to judge because no background information has been given.

 

If you (or anybody else) is still unsure whose advice to follow then we have a reputation system enabled on this site where users can give each other reputation points. The more green blobs somebody has under their post count, the higher their reputation score. If somebody has a red blob then this means they have a negative reputation score and you should be cautious about following their advice.

 

As always, the advice and opinions given on this forum are offered informally. For legal advice you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.