Commercial rent

jacaldo

I have been renting a workshop within a yard of units for 10 years. The whole yard has now gone up for sale by the executors of the deceased landlord. Myself and another tenant have never had a lease only a written contract, we have always paid our rents on time and have looked after the yard. Do we have any rights or can we be kicked out without notice? Property developers have turned up unannounced, do we have to let them have access?
I understand we will have to go but the time to relocate and move all our equipment could not be done quickly, other properties around here are scarce.
Thanks for any advice.

daveyjp

Unless they have any evidence that you do not benefit from protection under Landlord and Tenanct Act 1954 Part II you have protection under the Act. The written contract is an important document.

Do not assume you have to go, the Act gives strong rights to tenants and you can't simply be turfed out.

At some point you will probably need representation from a specialist Landlord and Tenant Surveyor or Solicitor.

G_M

jacaldo wrote: »

..... never had a lease only a written contract,..... Do we have any rights or can we be kicked out without notice?

I'm afraid I'm not psychic - can't read the terms of your contract!

What does it say?

davidmcn

jacaldo wrote: »

Myself and another tenant have never had a lease only a written contract

What makes you think the written contract isn't a lease?

bris

Your contract will determine your rights. The contract will almost certainly have termination rights written into it some where.
If everything was done informally it could very well be classed as a tenancy at will which gives you very little rights.

jacaldo

The contract contains the usual t&c's but at the back it tells me I have a lease without "security of tenure"
I'm not trying to be obstructive but I would like to know how long I get before I have to leave, should I expect a formal termination and would this be in writing?
Thanks

anselld

jacaldo wrote: »

The contract contains the usual t&c's

One or more of the "usual t&c's" will tell you about termination...
... or would you rather we guess?

booksurr

jacaldo wrote: »

The contract contains the usual t&c's but at the back it tells me I have a lease without "security of tenure"
I'm not trying to be obstructive but I would like to know how long I get before I have to leave, should I expect a formal termination and would this be in writing?
Thanks

since no one on here can see what it says how do you expect an answer?

You have a contract, it has T&C, commercial lets are not governed by "standard" rules, they are governed by what is in the contract.

jacaldo

There is nothing within the t&c's that tells me how long we get to move out. I do not know what "standard rules" apply to commercial lets, hence the post.
If there were actual time scales written into the contract I would not be asking the question.
I do not expect anyone to guess, I am only seeking advice.

daveyjp

A lease is generally for a term of three or more years and signed as a deed. Anything less is a tenancy.

You can't simply add the line 'without security of tenure' and hope this makes any problems go away.

There used to be a Court process to go through to achieve this, now its a formal process of declaration between the parties.

Termination could be as little as three months, but it could be almost impossible without compensation payment as you may have been there long enough to show you are now a long term tenant

This is why you will need professional advice.

Freecall

anselld wrote: »

One or more of the "usual t&c's" will tell you about termination...

Possibly not.

It may have been drawn up as a ‘Tenancy at Will’ which would have no notice period.

Tenancies at Will can, over time, become other forms of tenancy if certain things change but this would very much depend on exactly how the tenancy has developed. They are intended for relatively simple letting situations and are often used in circumstances such as that described, such as builders yards and workshops.

If you are worried about exactly what your obligations and rights are then you will definitely need some specialist advice but although this may give you increased clarity it is also likely that you will find that you have very few rights.

As a side issue, Tenancies at Will terminate automatically if the landlord or tenant dies so you may have nothing apart from a licence to enter the premises I am afraid.

I wish that I could be more positive but you probably need to be thinking about engaging with the executor in order to negotiate an exit plan which is attractive to all concerned while looking to make alternative arrangements.