Occupiers of Commercial Premises
These documents for Occupiers of Commercial Premises have been professionally drafted to meet the needs of business tenants and licensees.
The templates are straightforward to use and cover a whole range of situations including agreeing a letting, registering a lease at the Land Registry, excluding security of tenure, alterations, assignments, underlettings and termination of the lease.
The documents are constructed in Word format, and can be customised to meet your requirements. Please click on the links below to view details.
- Commercial Property Heads of Terms
- Signing Commercial Property Contracts and Deeds
- Registering a Lease at the Land Registry
- Excluding Security of Tenure from a Lease
- Obtaining Consent to Alterations
- How to Assign a Lease
- Underleases and other Underletting Documents
- Termination and Renewal of Leases
- Options to Purchase for Residential Tenants
Occupiers of Commercial Premises is part of Property. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Property for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am a business taking on commercial premises, what should I sort out first?
Start with heads of terms setting out rent, term, break rights, rent review, repairing basis and use, agreed subject to contract. Check whether the lease is offered inside or outside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, because that decides whether you can renew at the end. Work out whether the lease must be registered (anything over seven years must be) and what consents you will need for alterations, assignment or underletting. Simply-Docs has tenant-side templates for each of these steps.
As a tenant, will I have the right to renew my commercial lease?
Yes, unless the lease is contracted out. Business tenancies within Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 carry security of tenure, so at the end of the term you can stay and apply for a new lease, and the landlord can oppose only on the section 30 grounds. If the landlord asks you to exclude security of tenure, that is done by a warning notice and your declaration before the lease is entered into, and it means you give up the right to renew. Weigh that before you agree.
Can I alter, assign or sublet my commercial premises during the lease?
Usually only with the landlord's consent. Most commercial leases prohibit alterations, assignment and underletting without consent, given by a formal licence in each case. Where the covenant is qualified, the law implies that consent must not be unreasonably withheld, and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 requires the landlord to respond within a reasonable time. Simply-Docs provides tenant letters, heads of terms and the licences and notices for alterations, assignments and underlettings.
How do I end my commercial lease when I no longer need the premises?
It depends on the stage. During the term you can end the lease only if it has a break clause, and any break notice must be served strictly in accordance with the lease. At the end of the contractual term a tenant who wants to leave can serve a notice under section 27 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, while a tenant who wants to stay serves a section 26 request for a new tenancy. A tenancy at will can be ended at any time. Simply-Docs supplies the notices for each route.