At Saracens Solicitors, as a commercial lease solicitor in London, we’ve been advising clients on how to rent business premises since 2005. In that time, we’ve worked with a wide range of companies: from one-person start-ups to multi-million-pound enterprises.
While it isn’t required by law for you to hire the services of a commercial lease solicitor in London to negotiate your lease, it is a wise move. Landlords will naturally do all they can to protect their own interests, and there are unprincipled ones out there who will even try to sneak in clauses that put an undue maintenance burden onto the tenant.
Here’s a quick overview of what you need to know before you enter into a commercial lease, to make sure the interests of your business are protected for many years to come.
First step: choose your space
Do you need space to expand or are you content with a workshop just for you? Do you need a mixed-use building (shop and office for example) or just one type of space (as in a factory or single shop unit)? What’s your ideal location? For an online sales business, this doesn’t really matter. For a restaurant, it’s key. Figure this out before you go looking and have your wish list in hand. It will save you a lot of time and energy.
Second step: seek counsel
As soon as you have a property in mind, get in touch with a commercial lease solicitor in London. While it may be tempting to skimp on legal fees, it’s better to get early advice than get deep into negotiations and realise that this building isn’t a good fit.
Third step: searches
Part of our role as a commercial lease solicitor in London is to carry out searches on the property to make sure the landlord isn’t hiding or unaware of any maintenance or environmental problems that could affect your tenancy.
Forth step: the negotiating table
We can negotiate with your landlord or their agent on your behalf to get you the best deal possible. We’ll also draw up the contract and make sure you are aware of the implications of your lease and your obligations to your landlord.