Is Your Lease a DIY Job Gone Wrong?
We are not solicitors and have no financial interest in encouraging landlords to pay expensive legal fees, unless it is in their best interest and will protect them in the longer term. As surveyors, registered valuers and agents we see DIY lease disasters all the time!
Know your tenant. “Amazin Cutz” may provide amazing hair cuts even if they can’t spell. But do they exist? Is the name on your lease an actual legal entity? Do you know who you are? We even find landlords grant leases in their names, when in actual fact a property is owned by their company or their pension fund.
Do you know what you are giving away? DIY leases usually have no lease plan or at best a re-produced copy which has been coloured and re-shaded fifty times over the last few years. It is essential to clearly show the demise, where a tenant has rights and any common parts that may be used by others. Be aware of The Land Registration Act and what it requires and what constitutes a compliant plan.
Call Security….!! Does your lease deal with the Security of Tenure Provisions of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954? Do you know what is needed to “contract out” of The Act?
I have a leaky roof come and fix it… Do you clearly set out repairing obligations? Who is responsible for maintenance of different elements of the property? What happens at lease expiry, what condition do you expect the property to be returned. Repairs can affect the value of your asset and dilapidations at lease expiry are important if you want to re-let your building.
Whether you are at the beginning of this process, in a mess somewhere in the middle or need help at expiry. We have a team of agents, advisors and surveyors for all aspects of lease matters. We do point out that we are not solicitors and you should always get your lease drafted by a suitably qualified professional, but we can help prevent problems further down the line.