The new Lease and not enough buckets

I have had a number of conversations recently about business leases with people looking to relocate their businesses into industrial units or offices. I know that there is a cost with Legal fees but getting it wrong can be catasptophic.

One of my clients recently wanted to take a 5 year lease on a industrial unit. They had looked through the lease and were on the brink of signing it when they brought it in to me. They had not understood that the Lease gave them the resposibility to keep the premises in full repair. Fortunately, we changed the term because when they moved in they hadn’t got enough buckets to catch the rain water pouring through the roof!

I was very surprised when a Landlord told me that they had  just let 2 businesses into occupation of 2 different industrial units with no Leases at all – just a handshake.

The Landlord was more than surprised when I explained that the business tenant would probably be able to stay in occupation for as long as the tenant wanted. The Landlord only had very limited grounds to get back possession of their Units and then only by Court Order.

All I can say is be careful about the cost of fees but a Lease is a significant Legal document that will cost you a lot of money if you get it wrong.

Tagged as: landlord, Lease, tenant