Commercial Property Dispute Solicitors

A commercial lease dispute is a disagreement between landlord and tenant about the rights and obligations in a business lease. Common examples include repair and dilapidations disputes, disagreements over rent, service charges and rent review, disputes about consent to assign or alter, and disagreements over renewal or termination. The starting point in every case is the wording of the lease, construed on ordinary contract principles, before any statutory overlay is considered.

Only on limited grounds, in most cases. Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 gives business tenants security of tenure, meaning the tenancy continues at the end of the term and the tenant may seek a new lease. A landlord can only oppose renewal on the statutory grounds, which include persistent arrears, substantial breaches, an intention to redevelop and an intention to occupy the premises itself, and compensation is payable on the no fault grounds. Strict notice procedures apply to both sides, and missing a deadline can be fatal to a position.

The lease governs what is due and when. A landlord’s options for arrears include a debt claim, drawing on a rent deposit, pursuing a guarantor, commercial rent arrears recovery against goods at the premises, and ultimately forfeiture. A tenant disputing the sums claimed will look to the lease’s machinery, any set off available and the accuracy of the demands. Most arrears disputes settle on a payment plan or an orderly exit, because both outcomes usually beat the cost of a fight.

Service charges in commercial property are governed by the lease, so the questions are what services the lease obliges the landlord to provide, what costs it entitles the landlord to recover, and whether the machinery, including certification and apportionment, has been operated properly. Charges that fall outside the lease’s words are not recoverable, and many leases cap or exclude categories of cost. We act for tenants challenging demands and landlords seeking to recover properly incurred costs.

A schedule of dilapidations is the landlord’s statement of the repairs it says the tenant owes at or near the end of the lease. Liability depends on the repair covenants in the lease and is capped by section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 at the damage to the value of the landlord’s interest, so a schedule priced at full reinstatement is frequently negotiable to a much lower figure, particularly where the landlord intends to redevelop. Early expert advice routinely reduces these claims substantially.

Forfeiture is the landlord’s right, where the lease provides for it, to end the lease for breach and retake the premises. For breaches other than non payment of rent a notice under section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925 must be served first, and a landlord can waive the right by treating the lease as continuing. The court has power to grant the tenant relief from forfeiture, normally on terms that the breach is remedied, which is why even a forfeited lease can often be rescued if the tenant acts quickly.

We quote fixed fees for every stage, agreed before any work starts, at prices around 30% cheaper than a standard law firm. In court proceedings the general rule is that the losing party contributes to the winning party’s costs, but recovery is discretionary and rarely complete, and in negotiation and mediation each side typically bears its own costs unless agreed otherwise. We always advise on realistic cost recovery prospects before you commit to any course of action.