If you are a commercial leaseholder operating a business you may have spent many years building up a client base or you may have spent significant amounts of money altering your premises. The last thing that you want or can afford is for your landlord to ask you to leave your premises at the end of your tenancy.
Unless both parties have contracted out of the 1954 Act, an eligible business tenant has protection under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Section 24 (1) of the Act states that a tenancy will not come to an end even after the expiry of its term unless a landlord has given notice in a prescribed form to teminate the tenancy. A business tenant may request a new tenancy or, more usually, simply choose to continuing with their existing periodic tenancy without taking any futher action.
If valid notice to terminate is given by a landlord then they must state whether they are opposed to the grant of a new tenancy and, if they are, specify their ground(s) of opposition. If they are not opposed then the notice must outline the landlord’s proposals for a new tenancy.
Accuracy in the form of the notices and their timing is crucial so it is paramount that legal advice be obtained at an early stage to avoid errors. If you are a business tenant or a landlord unsure of your rights under the Act, looking to obtain advice before entering into a commercial lease or wishing to either request a new tenancy or terminate your existing one, please do get in contact with our Rob Synnott who will be happy to advise you further.
