New Short-Term Tenancy Documents

Two new short-term tenancy documents have been added to the property portfolio.

Please click here for the Licence to Occupy Commercial Premises and Tenancy at Will for Commercial Premises. The Licence to Occupy Heads of Terms and Tenancy at Will Heads of Terms have also been updated.

Within the property portfolio there are several template tenancies at will and licences to occupy which have been drafted for specific commercial uses. The template Tenancy at Will for Commercial Premises and Licence to Occupy Commercial Premises can be tailored to suit many commercial uses.

These documents should be used for short-term arrangements to occupy business premises. This may be because the parties are in the process of negotiating a formal lease or because the Landlord has other long-term plans for the premises and is happy for the premises to be occupied in the short-term. Due to the short-term nature of these tenancies, these templates are personal to the occupiers and the benefit of these agreements cannot be assigned or transferred to a third party.

As is covered in the document description for the Licence to Occupy Commercial Premises, you need to be wary of granting a licence when it is a lease. Although these documents can be similar, a licence is not an interest in land and therefore the licensee cannot acquire security of tenure. If there is any doubt as to whether a proposed arrangement will be a lease or a licence, the safest approach is to grant a lease which excludes the tenant’s right to security of tenure.

As always, you should seek legal advice if you are not sure whether these templates will meet your needs or if you need help to edit or add to them to meet your particular needs.