Trustpilot
ISO 27001 Certified
Welcome to Simply-Docs
Business
Corporate
Employment
Health & Safety
Samples & Free
Property
Shop & Restaurant Leases

Shop and Restaurant Tenancy at Will and Licence Agreements

Listed below are a selection of Tenancy at Will Agreements and Licences for shop and restaurant premises.

Most retail and restaurant businesses occupy their premises under a lease. A lease is a formal arrangement whereby the Tenant has exclusive use of the premises for a specified term. Leases usually contain detailed provisions as to what a tenant must and must not do in order to protect the value of the Landlord’s reversionary interest in the premises.

Sometimes it is not appropriate to grant a lease. If the business is only going to occupy the premises for a short time (say, less than 6 months) or if the parties are in the process of negotiating a lease but the Tenant needs to occupy the premises immediately, the parties may wish to use a Tenancy at Will or a Licence.

A Tenancy at Will has no fixed term and can be terminated by either party at any time with immediate effect. It is therefore only suitable for very short term arrangements.

A Licence is more like a lease in that it has a fixed term. However, a Licence is unlike a lease in that it is not an interest in land and a licensee cannot acquire security of tenure. An arrangement is a lease if the occupier has exclusive possession of premises for a fixed term. Such an arrangement is a lease whether or not the parties call it a lease. It cannot be a licence just because the parties call it a licence. The Licences in this sub-folder are drafted in such a way that the licensee does not have exclusive occupation of the premises.

Beware of granting a “licence” that is really a lease. A court might decide that the licensee is really a tenant who has 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.

Shop and Restaurant Tenancy at Will and Licence Agreements is part of Property. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Property for 1 year.

Frequently Asked Questions

A retailer wants to trade from my unit before the lease is finished, what should I use? +
Use a tenancy at will. It lets the retailer take occupation while the lease is negotiated, and either party can end it at any time with no notice. Because it has no fixed term and ends on demand, it does not give the occupier security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Treat it as a genuine bridge only: if trading continues with regular rent, a court may find a periodic tenancy has arisen, which can carry renewal rights.
What is the difference between a licence and a tenancy at will for a shop? +
A tenancy at will has no fixed term and ends the instant either party asks for possession. A licence usually runs for a fixed term but gives only permission to occupy, not exclusive possession, so it creates no estate in land. Neither gives security of tenure. The trap is exclusive possession: if the retailer has exclusive use of a defined unit for a term at a rent, a court treats it as a lease whatever the document is called.
Can a licence keep my restaurant occupier from gaining the right to renew? +
Only if it is genuinely a licence. A licence avoids security of tenure because it is not an interest in land, but that holds only where the occupier lacks exclusive possession, for example a concession or shared kitchen arrangement. Grant exclusive possession of a self-contained restaurant unit for a term at a rent and the document is a lease whatever its title, so the tenant may gain security. Where you need certainty, grant a lease contracted out of the 1954 Act instead.
How fast can I recover my retail unit under a tenancy at will? +
At once. A tenancy at will can be ended by either party at any time, so you can call for possession without a notice period. That is the point of the document, but it works both ways: the retailer can also walk away immediately, so neither side has any security. If you want a guaranteed minimum trading period, use a short lease or a fixed-term licence instead.
Property Buy Only £38.50 + VAT!
Unlimited Downloads for One Year
No Auto-Renewal
All Shop & Restaurant Leases

Simply-4-Business Ltd Registered in England and Wales No. 4868909, 20 Mortlake High Street, Mortlake, London SW14 8JN

Trustpilot
Top