EMH LEASE ADVISORY SERVICE
Lease Renewals
At EMH Commercial, we pride ourselves in providing professional lease advisory services including Lease Renewals.
From the outset it is important to identify whether the commercial tenancy agreement grants the tenant the automatic right to renew the agreement under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954.
Where the tenant does not have the right to renew, it is important to strategically enter negotiations with the tenant after undertaking market analysis, allowing sufficient time for the terms of the new tenancy agreement to be agreed before the lease expiry date.
Should the tenant have automatic rights to renew, strict timetables and serving of notices must be adhered to either renew or terminate the agreement in accordance with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The decision of when and upon what terms to serve Notices can be tactical depending on whether the current passing rent is higher or lower than the market rent.
We work closely with the client, providing strategic advice and guidance throughout the renewal process, advising on market trends and rental values with a focus on reaching the most favourable outcome.
Rent Reviews
Most commercial tenancy agreements have provisions for the rent to reviewed on specific review dates throughout the lease term.
It is standard for the rent to be reviewed to market rent but could also come in the form of fixed rental increases, or the review can be linked to RPI or tenant turnover. In some instances, the review is to the higher of one of these mechanisms.
It is also important to understand from the agreement whether ‘time is of the essence’ especially when the rent review is upward only so that the client does not miss out on a potential rental increase.
The Leasing team at EMH Commercial have in depth knowledge of the rent review procedures and the commercial property market from which we can analyse the market rent through our database of comparable evidence.
We advise the client based on our assessment of the rent review provisions and market analysis and negotiate the rent review through to the completion of the rent review memorandum ensuring the best outcome is achieved.
A rent review can also be utilised as a negotiating tool to discuss mutually beneficial variations to the existing lease terms such as breaks or agreeing an extension to the term of the lease.
Surrender and Lease Re-gears
There are times where the landlord wants to dispose of a property, or the tenant no longer requires the property which calls for a surrender of the existing lease. Furthermore, there are occasions where it is advantages for both parties to restructure the existing lease often resulting in a surrender of the existing lease and the granting of a new lease, more commonly known as a lease re-gear.
This tends to involve both the landlord and the tenant agreeing to amend one or more of the core lease terms including:
- Rent payable
- Length of lease
- Breaks
- Rent reviews
- Repairing obligations
At EMH Commercial we advise the client by first understanding their requirements and assessing the benefits, followed by engaging with the other party to negotiate an agreement that is acceptable to both parties.