Lettings lawyers in London & Thames Valley

When a lease is outside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, it means the lease is granted without security of tenure. Security of tenure means the tenant has an automatic right to renew a lease when it expires, on similar terms but at market rent, unless the landlord is able to regain access of the property by exercising certain statutory grounds and stop a new lease being granted. When a lease is outside this Act, the automatic right to renew the lease is lost and the tenancy will either terminate on expiry, or a new lease will need to be negotiated.

The lease terms will determine the extent of your repairing liability, so thorough negotiation and drafting is required to limit these as far as possible. One specific solution might be to attach a photographic schedule of condition, documenting the state of the property at the time the lease was granted. Appropriate wording in the lease can then limit your repairing obligations, so that you do not need to keep the property in a better state and condition than evidenced by the schedule of condition.

Possibly. Rental income can be exempt from VAT, but there are complex rules governing when VAT is chargeable or not. Many landlords voluntarily opt to tax their commercial buildings which would usually mean that VAT would be payable on rent. We would advise seeking specialist tax advice, if necessary.

There are a few options. You could agree to surrender the lease with your landlord or otherwise seek to vary your lease to shorten the term or add in an early break right. Unfortunately, the landlord would need to agree to these resolutions otherwise you are tied into your lease until it terminates.