business relocation services in London

Rent Reviews

Depending upon the length of the term, modern commercial property leases generally contain provisions for the rent to be reviewed to open market value every three or five years.

If a rent review date is approaching, an early assessment of your situation is vital to ensure that the best possible negotiating strategy is prepared. Most rent reviews are upwards only i.e. the rent will not fall at review, so the impact of a rent that is agreed at too high a level over a period of three or five years can therefore be substantial.

When a notification is received that your landlord is seeking to increase your rent, professional representation is recommended, as there will usually be room to negotiate. To achieve the best possible settlement on your behalf, we negotiate taking into account:

• the location and characteristics of your business property to assess their effect on rental value.
• the terms of the lease relating to the rent review process, some of which require the assumption of artificial circumstances to arrive at a rental value.
• the state of the commercial property market as a whole and evidence of lettings or rent reviews of comparable business properties in the immediate locality.

The timetable for the service of notices and counter notices and the machinery for dealing with resolution should negotiations break down must also be carefully considered as a failure to act in time may result in a rent that is only initially a proposal becoming binding.