Commercial tenant without a lease rights

autumntrance

Good evening all,

Not 100% sure this is the right section so apologies if it's not!

My father in law is a mechanic and has been in the same premises for 17 years (46 years in all but became the business owner 17 years ago) the property is owned by 2 brothers who inherited it from their mother.

1 brother wants to sell the other doesn't but it has been put up for sale and is now SSTC the purchaser's bank won't release the money unless my FIL signs a lease, his solicitor has advised him not to; a) because he has never had one b) because the lease is not in his favour at all.

Now the 1 wants to try and get my FIL out as he is holding up the sale (which has taken over a year to get to this stage!) as he has never had a lease and has always paid on time does he have any rights? (this has not been told to him directly yet, the other brother told him!)

From what I have found it seems that he is protected under the Landlord & Tenant act 1954 and that the LL has to give him 6 months notice under section 25.

It also appears that he can claim compensation at 2x the rateable value due to the fact that that the LL will object to a new tennancy and that he has been there over 14 years.

I wonder if anyone knows if this correct and also if he could be classed as a sitting tenant as he has been there 46 years or does it just go from when he became the business owner?

Any help would be great

Thanks in advance

jgh

Rent has been paid, which has been accepted, that creates a contract. The historic rent that have been accepted are the contractual rent. A contact exists and varience in such contact is bound by relevant laws. (IANAL)

It would be worth your FiL seeing a CAB advisor or a local councillor, they will be able to either give relevant advice or signpost him to somebody who can.

tbs624

AFAIAA, the CABs do not give business advice.

OP - you mention that your FIL has been advised by a solicitor already. Can he not follow these queries up there?

Have you/your FIL read through this http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/regeneration/pdf/131179.pdf

There is a commercial section on the forum over at Landlordzone

teneighty

It has been many many years since I did minor commercial property law at college but would say it is a very complicated and specialised subject.

You should really be talking to a solicitor who practices in this field to make sure your father in law's rights are protected.

Sorry I couldn't come up with a nice cheap simple solution but sometimes professional help just makes sense.

Don't forget, a solicitor who practises in commercial property law, not the average high street conveyancer.

Good Luck

Richard_Webster

Landlord has to give 6 months notice and prove grounds under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 if he wants to get him out. Cannier thing for Landlord to do is to serve notice and offer lease - then more difficult to argue that new lease terms are not reasonable.

He would also appear to be entitled to compensation at twice rateable value having been there more than 14 years.

jayship

Under his business insurance he may have legal cover. They will put him in touch with a commercial lawyer who will initially offer advice on the phone.

GDB2222

Richard_Webster wrote: »

Landlord has to give 6 months notice and prove grounds under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 if he wants to get him out. Cannier thing for Landlord to do is to serve notice and offer lease - then more difficult to argue that new lease terms are not reasonable.

He would also appear to be entitled to compensation at twice rateable value having been there more than 14 years.

This delay is likely to scupper the sale, isn't it? That put's the OP's FIL in a very strong position to bargain about the new lease. He has a solicitor on board, and he needs to start negotiating. A lump sum payment of 2 x rateable value would be nice, alongside a new lease on favourable terms.

bris

Your father does have rights but they may or may not be able to legaly evict him. The historic payments create a lease that is now periodic. When our rent review was due, well it was long overdue, but the LL couldn't find our lease so sent us a new one to sign. We spoke to our solicitor to find out our rights about this and was informed that our past payments create the lease but we could be evicted if we didn't sign the new one, we were informed the LL has to give us at least 6 months notice but no more than 12 months and then we would be out. Not sure about compensation but we ended up just signing the new lease. I don't think our solicitor knew our rights though just the LL.

The fact that a new lease has been offered to you father would affect his rights for protection and compensation under the 1954 act however, he would have had those rights if no new lease had been offered. You said the bank wanted him to sign a new lease, but then go on to say the LL would object to one, so which one is it?

There may even be grounds for an automacic right for a new lease of up to 15 years under the 1954 act if the LL objects to a new lease. He has been on a periodic lease for a long time now, which gives him this right at the same or no more onerous terms. The LL could object to this in certain circumstances, such as lat payment, or the building being in a state of disrepair, but you need to speak again to your solicitor for the options.