Here is some useful information for anyone thinking of leasing commercial property or adding commercial property to their portfolio.

Lou: Hi, grateful for some help, I am about to start looking for commercial properties to rent but wonder if someone could please either tell me what a “full repairing and insuring lease” is, point me in the direction of a useful website, or let me have a copy of such a lease!! The majority of properties are let this way but I am having trouble finding somewhere/someone that can explain in laymans terms what my obligations as a tenant will be.

I have several residential properties that I let out and had no problem finding information on the net but there’s not as much for commercial property.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Tax Accountant: Your obligations as a tenant will be quite extensive. You will be responsible for all the ongoing repairs and insurance for the building. Although you don’t have any responsibility for improving the property, you still have to maintain it in a satisfactory state. The most important is the dilapidations issue. When you hand back the property, you will be responsible for putting back the property in the state in awhich it was originally when the lease was first issued. If you are taking a lease by assignment from another tenant, you are still responsible for all outstanding repairs. It is best to have the property surveyed before you take on a lease.

Ramnik

SteveP: It means exactly what it says on the tin. You will be responsible for the insurance and repair of the property. The detail of that repairing obligation will depend firstly on what the repairing clauses in the lease say. Typically they may require you to put and keep, or keep the property in good repair, both terms will make you liable to remedy disrepair that exists already not merely to return it in its present condition.

Repairing clauses also generally include other matters, such as complying with regulations, which you will have to pay for. There are also normally decorating clauses which may have cost implications.

You should not sign a lease without having a survey carried out by a chartered building surveyor (it really is just about the most reckless thing you can do) and if the building has significant mechanical/electrical services you will probably need a report from a chartered buillding services engineer too. A chartered building surveyor will be able to advise you whether the terms are appropriate and whether you should negotiate different terms, for example terms that limit your liability by incorporating a schedule of condition.

I could tell you hundreds of stories of people taking on commercial leases without such advice beforehand that end with the tenant being liable for thousands of pounds worth of disrepair which could have been avoided very easily.

Tax Accountant: Do not take commercial leases lightly. Take full legal advice and don’t skimp on the survey to ensure that you are not taking on the responsibilities of other peoples repairs and dilapidations.

Ramnik

Lou: Many thanks for your replies and advice. We will get full surveys and legal advice etc and ensure the building is in an acceptable state before taking on any lease.

Presumably then the owner has no or little responsibility for the property other than buying it?? If so this seems less troublesome than having a residential portfolio where the landlord is responsible for everything – although I am sure it’s not as simple as this!

many thanks again for your help

Lou

By the way I am looking for premises of approx 3000 – 6000 sq ft on the west/northwest side of Edinburgh if anyone happens to know of any! thanks.

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Taken from LandLordZone: (http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/archive/index.php/t-644.html)

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/08/rentergirl

By Penny Anderson

Because I live in private rented housing, it’s entirely possible that I could find myself obliged to move every six months until I die. I’m not being neurotic or pessimistic – it could actually happen. For renters stuck on this treadmill of short, serial tenancies, life can resemble an infinite sequence of heroic tasks. There’s the legendary utility company reconnection trial, marauding hordes of duplicitous letting agents to defeat, and the Sisyphean cycle of packing/unpacking/repacking.

It makes me wish I was French or Dutch. On mainland Europe, letting is the norm, and agreements last for years. Renters can make themselves at home, whereas in Britain the standard tenancy lasts just six months, and bad landlords delight in keeping tenants on tenterhooks come renewal time.

The law can be supportive of landlord short-termism. The last Conservative government passed legislation intended to simplify what was seen as a complex eviction process, unblocking what they regarded as a moribund private rental sector. Recently, housing charities and lawyers have noticed that section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act – put simply, the first step in giving notice to quit – is being used to undermine security. Some landlords even start the process of ending the tenancy on the very day renters move in, encouraging (or compelling) them to sign an acknowledgment that a section 21 notice has been served.

Many younger or inexperienced renters fail to grasp the implications of what they’ve signed. They might have been homeless and are understandably desperate, perhaps scared. But even tenants with pristine references can be victims. Landlords and letting agents promote the procedure as harmless, as a routine and sensible precaution. Renters who understand what they’ve signed are rattled, and increasingly reluctant to press for repairs, or they might accept untoward rent increases, fearing that, if they refuse, they will be shown the door.

“Retaliatory evictions” describes the situation where tenants assert their right for repairs or maintenance, only for the landlord to suddenly and coincidentally decide to sell up (the rules on vacant possession are open to misuse).

Another strategy used to undermine tenants could simply be described as “lying”. Letting agents are known to advertise a long-term contract, knowing full well that the landlord has no such intentions. In one extreme case I encountered, a tenant was granted a six-month agreement, but was assured it would be renewed whenever they wanted. They were so delighted they redecorated, and even planted a garden. In fact, not only was the house for sale, but was owned and being marketed by their own letting agent. They had to move for the fifth time in as many years.

Given such conditions, how are people to settle within a community? What about families who need to find schools? We never know how long the master of our destiny might deign to let us stay, and the current climate has increased insecurity as owners facing financial difficulties, even about to forfeit the mortgage, force tenants to move on again.

T he process of moving house is always fraught, exhausting and costly. Too many renters lead nomadic lives, paying removal costs, losing deposits and stumping up for agency fees, while enduring inconveniences such as telecom providers who cut off communications for weeks every time they relocate. For credit reference purposes, our fragmented housing history makes us look dodgy, like fugitives. Once again, the result is further expense, in sureties and precautionary advance payments for necessities such as phones.

For all these reasons, we can’t make plans. And with short-term tenancies ending on a whim, it’s hardly worth unpacking. That’s why I hoard banana boxes (they’re the strongest; I am now a packing expert). But it’s no way to live. Landlords should value long-term tenants, and end this drive for short-term renting. Otherwise, we’ll have to move so often that eventually you’ll see removal vans roaming the streets like taxis, ready when we need them.

Penny Anderson blogs on living in private rented accommodation at rentergirl.blogspot.com

A list of towns in which you may find property for auction at a nearby property auction. For more information on property auctions click here.

A

Abingdon, Abridge, Accrington, Acle, Addlestone, Adlington, Adwick le Street, Alcester, Aldeburgh, Aldershot, Aldridge, Alford, Alfreton, Alnwick, Alsager, Alston, Alton, Altrincham, Amble, Ambleside, Amersham, Amesbury, Ampthill, Andover, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Appledore, Apsley, Arlesey, Arnold, Arundel, Ascot, Ashbourne, Ashburton, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Ashford (Kent), Ashford (Surrey), Ashington, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ashton-under-Lyne, Askern, Aspatria, Atherstone, Atherton, Attleborough, Audenshaw, Axbridge, Axminster, Aylesbury, Aylsham

B

Bacup, Backworth, Baildon, Bakewell, Baldock, Banbury, Banstead, Barking, Barnard Castle, Barnehurst, Barnoldswick, Barnsley, Barnstaple, Barrow-in-Furness, Barton-upon-Humber, Basildon, Basingstoke, Bath, Batley, Battle, Bawtry, Beaconsfield, Beaminster, Bebington, Beccles, Beckenham, Bedale, Bedford, Bedlington, Bedworth, Beer, Beeston, Belper, Berkeley, Berkhamsted, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Beverley, Bewdley, Bexhill-on-Sea, Bicester, Biddulph, Bideford, Biggleswade, Billericay, Billingham, Bilston, Bingham, Bingley, Birchwood, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Bishop Auckland, Bishop’s Castle, Bishop’s Stortford, Bishop’s Waltham, Blackburn, Blackheath, Blackpool, Blackrod, Blackwater, Blandford Forum, Blaydon, Bletchley, Bloxwich, Blyth, Bodmin, Bognor Regis, Bollington, Bolsover, Bolton, Bootle, Bordon, Borehamwood, Boroughbridge, Boston, Bourne, Bournemouth, Bovey Tracey, Bowness-on-Windermere, Brackley, Bracknell, Bradford, Bradford on Avon, Brading, Bradley Stoke, Bradninch, Braintree, Brampton, Brandon, Brentwood, Bridgnorth, Bridgwater, Bridlington, Bridport, Brierfield, Brierley, Brierley Hill, Brigg, Brighouse, Brightlingsea, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Brixham, Broadstairs, Broadstone, Bromborough, Bromsgrove, Bromyard, Broseley, Brough, Broughton, Broughton-in-Furness, Brownhills, Broxbourne, Bruton, Buckfastleigh, Buckhurst Hill, Buckingham, Bude, Budleigh Salterton, Bulwell, Bungay, Buntingford, Burford, Burgess Hill, Burgh-le-Marsh, Burnham-on-Crouch, Burnham-on-Sea, Burnley, Burntwood, Burton Latimer, Burton upon Trent, Bury, Bury St Edmunds, Bushey, Buxton

C

Cadishead, Caister-on-Sea, Caistor, Callington, Calne, Camberley, Camborne, Cambridge, Camelford, Cannock, Canterbury, Canvey Island, Carlisle, Carnforth, Carterton, Castle Cary, Castleford, Caterham, Catterick Garrison, Chadderton, Chagford, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Chard, Charlbury, Chatham, Chatteris, Cheadle (Greater Manchester), Cheadle (Staffordshire), Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chertsey, Chesham, Cheshunt, Chessington, Chester, Chesterfield, Chester-le-Street, Chichester, Chigwell, Chingford, Chippenham, Chipping Campden, Chipping Norton, Chipping Ongar, Chipping Sodbury, Chorley, Chorleywood, Christchurch, Chudleigh, Chulmleigh, Church Stretton, Cinderford, Cirencester, Clacton-on-Sea, Clare, Clay Cross, Clayton-le-Moors, Cleator Moor, Cleckheaton, Cleethorpes, Cleobury Mortimer, Clevedon, Cleveleys, Clifton, Clitheroe, Clun, Coalville, Cobham, Cockermouth, Coggeshall, Colchester, Coleford, Coleshill, Colne, Colyton, Congleton, Conisbrough, Consett, Corbridge, Corby, Corringham, Corsham, Coseley, Cotgrave, Coulsdon, Coventry, Cowes, Cradley Heath, Cramlington, Cranbrook, Craven Arms, Crawley, Crayford, Crediton, Crewe, Crewkerne, Cricklade, Cromer, Crook, Crosby, Crowborough, Crowland, Crowle, Croydon, Cullompton

D

Dagenham, Dalton-in-Furness, Darlaston, Darley Dale, Darlington, Dartford, Dartmouth, Darwen, Daventry, Dawley, Dawlish, Deal, Denholme, Denton, Derby, Dereham, Desborough, Devizes, Dewsbury, Didcot, Dinnington, Diss, Doncaster, Dorchester, Dorking, Dover, Dovercourt, Downham Market, Driffield, Droitwich Spa, Dronfield, Droylsden, Dudley, Dukinfield, Dulverton, Dunstable, Dunwich, Durham, Dursley

E

Eaglescliffe, Ealing, Earby, Earl Shilton, Earley, Earlswood, Easington, Easington Colliery, Easingwold, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Eastham, Eastleigh, Eastwood (Essex), Eastwood (Nottinghamshire), Eccles, Eccleshall, Eckington, Edenbridge, Edlington, Egham, Egremont, Elland, Ellesmere, Ellesmere Port, Ely, Emsworth, Epping, Epsom, Epworth, Esher, Eston, Eton, Evesham, Ewell, Exeter, Exmouth, Eye

F

Failsworth, Fairford, Fakenham, Falmouth, Fareham, Faringdon, Farnborough, Farnham, Farnworth, Faversham, Fawfieldhead, Fazeley, Featherstone, Felixstowe, Feltham, Fenny Stratford, Ferndown, Ferryhill, Filey, Filton, Fleet, Fleetwood, Flitwick, Folkestone, Fordbridge, Fordingbridge, Fordwich, Formby, Fowey, Framlingham, Frimley, Frinton-on-Sea, Frodsham, Frome

G

Gainsborough, Garforth, Garstang, Gateshead, Gillingham (Dorset), Gillingham (Kent), Glastonbury, Glossop, Gloucester, Godalming, Godmanchester, Golborne, Goole, Gorleston, Gosport, Grange-over-Sands, Grantham, Gravesend, Grays, Great Dunmow, Great Torrington, Great Yarmouth, Grimsby, Guildford, Guisborough, Guiseley

H

Hadfield, Hadleigh, Hailsham, Halesowen, Halesworth, Halifax, Halstead, Haltwhistle, Hanwell, Harleston, Harlow, Harpenden, Harrington, Harrogate, Harrow, Hartland, Hartlepool, Harwich, Haslemere, Haslingden, Hastings, Hatfield, Hatherleigh, Havant, Haverhill, Hawes, Haxby, Hayle, Hayes, Haywards Heath, Heanor, Heathfield, Hebburn, Hebden Bridge, Hebden Royd, Heckmondwike, Hedge End, Hednesford, Hedon, Helmsley, Helston, Hemel Hempstead, Hempstead, Hemsworth, Henley-in-Arden, Henley-on-Thames, Hereford, Herne Bay, Hersham, Hertford, Hessle, Heswall, Hetton-le-Hole, Heversham, Hexham, Heywood, High Bentham, Higham Ferrers, Highbridge, Highcliffe, Highworth, High Wycombe, Hinckley, Hindley, Hingham, Hitchin, Hoddesdon, Holbeach, Holmfirth, Holsworthy, Holt, Honiton, Horley, Horncastle, Hornchurch, Hornsea, Horsforth, Horsham, Horwich, Houghton-le-Spring, Houghton Regis, Hounslow, Howden, Hoylake, Hoyland, Hucknall, Huddersfield, Hugh Town, Hungerford, Hunsdon, Hunstanton, Huntingdon, Huyton, Hyde, Hythe

I

Ibstock, Ilford, Ilfracombe, Ilkeston, Ilkley, Ilminster, Immingham, Ingatestone, Ipswich, Irlam, Irthlingborough, Ivybridge

J

Jarrow

K

Kearsley, Keighley, Kempston, Kendal, Kenilworth, Kesgrave, Keswick, Kettering, Keynsham, Kidderminster, Kidsgrove, Killamarsh, Killingworth, Kimberley, Kingsbridge, King’s Lynn, Kingston upon Hull, Kingston upon Thames, Kingswood, Kington, Kirkby, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Kirkby Lonsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Kirkbymoorside, Kirkham, Kirton in Lindsey, Knaresborough, Knottingley, Knowle, Knutsford

L

Lancaster, Langport, Laindon, Langdon Hills, Langley Mill, Launceston, Leamington Spa, Leatherhead, Lechlade, Ledbury, Leeds, Leek, Lee-on-the-Solent, Leicester, Leigh, Leighton Buzzard, Leigh-on-Sea, Leiston, Leominster, Letchworth, Lewes, Leyburn, Leyland, Lichfield, Lincoln, Linslade, Liskeard, Littleborough, Littlehampton, Liverpool, Loddon, Loftus, London, Long Eaton, Long Sutton, Longbenton, Longridge, Longtown, Looe, Lostwithiel, Loughborough, Loughton, Louth, Lowestoft, Ludgershall, Ludlow, Luton, Lutterworth, Lydd, Lydney, Lyme Regis, Lymington, Lytham St Annes

M

Mablethorpe, Macclesfield, Madeley, Maghull, Maidenhead, Maidstone, Maldon, Malmesbury, Maltby, Malton, Malvern, Manchester, Manningtree, Mansfield, Mansfield Woodhouse, Marazion, March, Margate, Market Bosworth, Market Deeping, Market Drayton, Market Harborough, Market Rasen, Market Warsop, Market Weighton, Marlborough, Marlow, Maryport, Masham, Matlock, Melbourne, Melksham, Meltham, Melton Mowbray, Mere, Mexborough, Middleham, Middlesbrough, Middleton, Middlewich, Midhurst, Midsomer Norton, Mildenhall, Millom, Milnrow, Milnthorpe, Milton Keynes, Minchinhampton, Minehead, Minster, Mirfield, Mitcham, Mitcheldean, Morden, Morecambe, Moretonhampstead, Moreton, Moreton-in-Marsh, Morley, Morpeth, Mossley, Much Wenlock, Mytholmroyd

N

Nailsea, Nailsworth, Nantwich, Needham Market, Nelson, Neston, Netherfield, Netherton, New Alresford, New Ferry, New Malden, New Mills, New Milton, New Romney, Newark-on-Trent, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Newbury, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newent, Newhaven, Newlyn, Newmarket, Newport (Cornwall), Newport (Isle of Wight), Newport (Shropshire), Newport Pagnell, Newquay, Newton Abbot, Newton Aycliffe, Newton-le-Willows, Normanton, Northallerton, Northam, Northampton, Northfleet, Northleach, North Hykeham, North Kenton, North Petherton, North Shields, North Tawton, North Walsham, Northwich, Norton-on-Derwent, Norwich, Nottingham, Nuneaton

O

Oadby, Oakengates, Oakham, Okehampton, Oldbury, Oldham, Ollerton, Olney, Orford, Ormskirk, Orpington, Ossett, Oswaldtwistle, Oswestry, Otley, Ottery St Mary, Oundle, Overcombe, Oxford, Oxted

P

Paddock Wood, Padiham, Padstow, Paignton, Painswick, Parkeston, Partington, Patchway, Pateley Bridge, Peacehaven, Pendlebury, Penistone, Penkridge, Penrith, Penryn, Penwortham, Penzance, Pershore, Peterborough, Peterlee, Petersfield, Petworth, Pickering, Pitsea, Plymouth, Pocklington, Polegate, Pontefract, Ponteland, Poole, Porthleven, Portishead, Portland, Portsmouth, Potters Bar, Potton, Poulton-le-Fylde, Prescot, Preston, Prestwich, Princes Risborough, Princetown, Prudhoe, Pudsey

Q

Quarry Bank, Queenborough

R

Radcliffe, Radstock, Rainham, Ramsbottom, Ramsgate, Raunds, Rawtenstall, Rayleigh, Reading, Redcar, Redditch, Redhill, Redruth, Reepham, Reeth, Reigate, Retford, Richmond (London), Richmond (North Yorkshire), Rickmansworth, Ringwood, Ripley, Ripon, Rishton, Robin Hood’s Bay, Rochdale, Rochester, Rochford, Romford, Romsey, Ross-on-Wye, Rothbury, Rotherham, Rothwell (Northamptonshire), Rothwell (West Yorkshire), Rowley Regis, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Royston (Hertfordshire), Royston (South Yorkshire), Royton, Rubery, Rugby, Rugeley, Runcorn, Rushden, Ryde, Rye, Ryton

S

Saffron Walden, St Albans, St Austell, St Blazey, St Columb Major, St Helens, St Ives (Cambridgeshire), St Ives (Cornwall), St Just in Penwith, St Mawes, St Neots, Salcombe, Sale, Salford, Salisbury, Saltash, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Sandbach, Sandhurst, Sandiacre, Sandown, Sandwich, Sandy, Sawbridgeworth, Saxmundham, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Seaford, Seaham, Seaton, Sedbergh, Sedgley, Selby, Selsey, Settle, Sevenoaks, Shaftesbury, Shanklin, Shaw & Crompton, Sheerness, Sheffield, Shefford, Shepperton, Shepshed, Shepton Mallet, Sherborne, Sheringham, Shifnal, Shildon, Shipley, Shipston-on-Stour, Shirebrook, Shoeburyness, Shoreham-by-Sea, Shrewsbury, Sidmouth, Silloth, Silsden, Sittingbourne, Skegness, Skelmersdale, Skelton-in-Cleveland, Skipton, Sleaford, Slough, Smethwick, Snaith, Snodland, Soham, Solihull, Somerton, Southam, Southampton, Southborough, South Benfleet, South Bank, South Cave, South Elmsall, South Molton, South Petherton, South Shields, South Woodham Ferrers, Southend-on-Sea, Southminster, Southport, Southsea, Southwell, Southwick, Southwold, Sowerby Bridge, Spalding, Spellbrook, Spennymoor, Spilsby, Stafford, Staines, Stainforth, Stalbridge, Stalham, Stalybridge, Stamford, Stanford-le-Hope, Stanhope, Stanley, Stapleford, Staveley, Stevenage, Steyning, Stockport, Stocksbridge, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Stokesley, Stone, Stonehouse, Stony Stratford, Stourbridge, Stourport-on-Severn, Stowmarket, Stow-on-the-Wold, Stratford-upon-Avon, Stratton, Stretford, Strood, Stroud, Sturminster Newton, Sudbury, Sunbury-on-Thames, Sunderland, Sutton, Sutton Coldfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Swadlincote, Swaffham, Swanage, Swanley, Swanscombe, Swindon, Swinton (Greater Manchester), Swinton (South Yorkshire), Syston

T

Tadcaster, Tadley, Tamworth, Taunton, Tavistock, Teignmouth, Telford, Telscombe, Tenbury Wells, Tenterden, Tetbury, Tewkesbury, Thame, Thamesmead, Thatcham, Thaxted, Thetford, Thirsk, Thornaby-on-Tees, Thornbury, Thorne, Thornton, Thorpe St Andrew, Thrapston, Tickhill, Tidworth, Tilbury, Tipton, Tisbury, Tiverton, Todmorden, Tonbridge, Topsham, Torpoint, Torquay, Totland, Totnes, Toton, Totton & Eling, Tow Law, Towcester, Tring, Trowbridge, Truro, Twickenham, Tyldesley, Tynemouth

U

Uckfield, Ulverston, Upholland, Upminster, Uppingham, Upton, Upton-upon-Severn, Urmston, Uttoxeter, Uxbridge

V

Ventnor, Verwood

W

Wadebridge, Wadhurst, Wakefield, Wainfleet All Saints, Walkden, Wallasey, Wallsend, Wallingford, Wallington, Walmer, Walsall, Waltham Abbey, Waltham Cross, Walthamstow, Walton, Walton-on-Thames, Walton-on-the-Naze, Wandsworth, Wantage, Ware, Wareham, Warminster, Warrington, Warwick, Washington, Watchet, Waterlooville, Watford, Wath-upon-Dearne, Watlington, Watton, Wednesbury, Wednesfield, Wellingborough, Wellington (Somerset), Wellington (Shropshire), Wells, Wells-next-the-Sea, Welwyn Garden City, Wem, Wendover, Wesham, West Bridgford, West Bromwich, West Byfleet, West Kirby, West Malling, West Mersea, Westbury, Westerham, Westgate-on-Sea, Westhoughton, Westminster, Weston-super-Mare, Wetherby, Weybridge, Weymouth, Whaley Bridge, Whickham, Whitby, Whitchurch (Hampshire), Whitchurch (Shropshire), Whitebushes, Whitecliff, Whitefield, Whitehaven, Whitley Bay, Whitnash, Whitstable, Whittlesey, Whyteleafe, Wickford, Wickham, Wickwar, Widnes, Wigan, Wigston Magna, Wigton, Willenhall, Willington, Wilmslow, Wilton, Wimborne Minster, Wincanton, Winchcombe, Winchelsea, Winchester, Windermere, Windsor, Winsford, Winslow, Winterton, Wirksworth, Wisbech, Witham, Withernsea, Witney, Wiveliscombe, Wivenhoe, Woburn, Woburn Sands, Woking, Wokingham, Wolsingham, Wolverhampton, Wolverton, Wombwell, Woodbridge, Woodley, Woodstock, Wooler, Wootton Bassett, Worcester, Workington, Worksop, Worsley, Worthing, Wotton-under-Edge, Wragby, Wroxham, Wymondham, Wythall

Y

Yarm, Yarmouth, Yate, Yateley, Yeadon, Yeovil, York