Commercial Property Disputes

Sometimes disputes between commercial landlords and tenants are unavoidable. Unfortunately, where they do arise, they can be time-consuming, expensive, and negatively impact both parties’ business.

Our expert lawyers offer pragmatic and strategic advice that aims to resolve disputes quickly, effectively and for a transparent price. We work with you to manage key relationships and achieve critical outcomes, whilst still resolving issues amicably.

Our property team bring industry experience that allows us to handle both common and complex conflicts with confidence.

We also offer mediation as an alternative to legal action.

One of the most common problems in commercial property rentals is the payment of service charge. If a commercial tenant falls behind on service charge payments, it can be difficult for the landlord to recover the arrears. It many also impact on the ability to undertake timely maintenance and repair work.

Our lawyers will work closely with you to offer recovery strategies tailored to your specific circumstanc nes. We understand that some landlords will prefer amicable approaches whereas others will want to take a more litigious approach. We can offer mediated discussions, assist in the recovery of rent, take initial action to recover service charge arrears, advise on Forfeiture and Possession proceedings, or advise on commercial insolvency.

Commercial leases usually contain dilapidations clauses that detail responsibility for any disrepair, damage, and defects to the property, as well as related alterations and repair on the tenant. This makes dilapidations a common source of dispute in commercial landlord-tenant relations.

Our lawyers can help you understand the duties and obligations of either party, how to best protect your own interests, and available remedies in the case of breach.

Leases are legally binding documents that last for a pre-determined and agreed period of time. However, the conclusion of the contract’s term is not the only way that a commercial rental agreement can come to an end.

In some instances, either the tenant or landlord may want the contract to end prematurely. Depending on your lease agreement, your options may be:

1. Forfeiture. Wherein the landlord is allowed to forfeit the lease should the tenant breach their contractual obligations
2. Break clause. Where a party to the lease is able to terminate the agreement before the end of the contractual term.
3. Notices to quit. Where the landlord can end the lease at any time, with reasonable grounds, by serving a written legal document known as a ‘notice to quit’.

Whether you’re looking to terminate your lease or want to build options into your commercial lease, our lawyers can offer expert guidance. For commercial landlords, we can help to draft your rental contract and advise you of your options. For tenants, we can help you understand your position and avenues for early termination.

If your lease is coming to an end, you may be thinking about renewing it. Many tenants have the right to renew their commercial lease (where the Lease is protected by the 1954 Act) when it comes to an end, however, in certain cases your landlord may have the right to refuse. If the Lease is not protected you would be best advised to take advice on how best to secure/protect your position whether you are a Landlord or a Tenant. Don’t let an unprotected Lease continue without knowing the ramifications of doing so without a new written agreement!

If you’re a tenant, you should let your landlord know your intentions.

If a dispute arises in relation to your lease renewal, we’re here to help. For landlords looking to use their premises themselves or want to develop , we can offer guidance on refusing a lease renewal. For tenants, we can offer robust legal advice that will secure the most favourable terms possible for your renewal.

The purchase and sale of commercial property is often a lengthy bureaucratic process that can be upended by breach of the real estate contract. Such breaches can cause substantial financial losses and complex legal disputes. Our expert team is on hand to help you navigate the legal consequences of a breach of contract, guiding you on potential solutions and the remedies available to you.

When everything goes well, joint ventures are an effective way formalising a business partnerships, sharing financial resources, and harnessing the power of collaboration.

Unfortunately, joint ventures are not immune to disputes. You may find yourself in conflict with other parties about a number of business-related factors such as each person’s share of the business, roles, responsibilities, or decision making.

This is why when entering into a joint venture it’s essential to draw up a robust Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) that explicitly outlines each parties’ role, responsibilities, and shares, and how organisational decisions will be made.

Our expert legal team can help you to draw up a watertight JVA that will reflect each parties’ wishes whilst protecting you from disputes. And if you’ve found yourself in conflict already, we can help to resolve the situation either through legal action or meditation.

Restrictive covenants are binding legal mechanisms that are designed to protect a piece of property. They are essentially a way for the seller or landlord to restrict or control the way their land or property is used, benefitting one party and placing a burden on the other.

If you’re thinking about changing the way you’re using the land or property, you may find that you inadvertently breach a restrictive covenant. That’s why it’s important to seek legal advice before making any significant change to the use of the property/land .

On the other side, if you’re looking to enforce a restrictive covenant that benefits you, we can help with that.

Seeking expert legal advice that helps you properly understand restrictive covenants, their influence on your property and your rights and responsibilities that arise from it is essential.

Mediation is often a more effective and cost-effective way of resolving property disputes. Defaulting to legal action can result in lengthy procedures, costly fees, high levels of stress, whilst still not actually addressing the human basis of the conflict. Though litigation is appropriate in some circumstances, it is not always the best solution.

We offer property dispute mediation alongside our legal services, because we want to empower our clients with choice.

Our experienced residential and commercial property disputes solicitor Suzie Stanley is qualified to mediate any civil and commercial matter. Her particular focus is property-based mediations including (but not limited to) Trusts of Land (TOLATA), boundaries, rent and service charge issue, and repossession.

Effective from 24th March 2022, the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act is a new law that is designed to resolve remaining commercial rent debts that have arisen as a result of the pandemic. Its fundamental goal is to help resolve coronavirus-related commercial rent disputes quickly and help to rehabilitate the market.

The Act introduces a legally binding arbitration process that eligible commercial landlord and tenants are able to use if they have not been able to reach an agreement. Landlords and tenants are still encouraged to try to resolve disputes between them, only resorting to the arbitration process in the last instance. The Act reinforces the Code that was introduced during the pandemic’s initial phases.

The law applies to commercial rent debts of businesses such as pubs, gyms, and restaurants that were legally obliged to close due to pandemic restrictions.

If you need legal advice on whether your business is covered by the Act, our lawyers are on hand to help.