GUIDE TO MAKING AN OFFER FOR A LEASE OF A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
The following is a brief guide to making an offer for a lease of commercial property covering:-
A)
the main lease terms
and B)
the information to be provided by an applicant for a lease.
We recommend that you take legal advice before entering into a contract or lease.
All offers should be made “Subject to Contract”.
Please refer to the letting particulars or make enquiries at our office as to the asking terms for
each property.
A)
MAIN LEASE TERMS:
Rent:
Please quote the rent per annum exclusive (pax), i.e. yearly sum
exclusive of rates, service charges, taxes etc. Rent will normally be
paid quarterly (3 monthly) in advance. In some cases VAT will be
payable on rent.
Length of
Please state the number of years of the lease and period of rent
Lease:
reviews, i.e. 12 year lease with 3 yearly rent reviews. The letting
particulars will often indicate the term of years and rent review
periods the Landlord requires. Please note that rent reviews will
normally be upward only.
User:
Please state the user, i.e. retail, office, food and drink, residential etc
and whether any planning permission or other consents are required.
Repair:
Most commercial leases are on full repairing and insuring (FRI) terms
which means that you will be responsible for all repairs and insurance
of the building, or a proportion of repairs and insurance where the
premises form part of a building. Remember that you should take
advice from a surveyor with regard to the condition of the property
where you will be liable for repairs.
Break
You may wish to include a break clause, i.e. a provision to determine
Clause:
the lease at an appropriate stage during the term. The Landlord
may require a minimum term of lease before a break clause is
operable, a reasonable notice period and in some cases a penalt