Western Morning News 17 July 2003

17/07/2003

Question:
I own a successful business in Newquay, manufacturing novelty beachwear. The premises are leasehold and the lease has another year to run. I would like to stay here but the landlord is making noises about a huge hike in rent. My current High Street solicitor says that I may be able to obtain a new lease through the courts. How does that work?

Answer:
I am fascinated by the concept of novelty beachwear and would welcome a site visit one day! The answer is that provided your lease was not "excluded" from the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 you do have the right to apply to the court for a new tenancy. The most likely sequence of events is that the landlord will serve a notice on you (called a section 25 notice) bringing the lease to an end. Until he does that you are entitled to stay in the premises on the subsisting terms. Once you receive the section 25 notice, you must serve a counter notice telling the landlord that you wish to stay.

There are strict time limits for this and for the application to court that must follow. As part of your application to court you can ask the Judge to rule on the rent for the new rent. This is a technical area and you might want to make sure your solicitor is sufficiently au fait with the procedure.