Issues that commonly have an impact upon corporate occupiers and how they can be avoided with appropriate foresight and planning

A corporate occupier party to a commercial lease on standard terms can reasonably expect to encounter a wide variety of issues during the life of its tenancy. At the heads of term and lease negotiation stages, matters including protection under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (the Act) and rent review clauses will be considered, together with the relevant implications. As the tenancy progresses, common landlord-tenant exchanges may involve processes such as the application of service charge mechanisms, conduct of rent reviews and applications for landlord consents to alter, assign or sub-let to enable an occupier to deal with a property more freely. Towards the end of a lease, issues concerning business tenancies may once again arise, as parties consider how Act rights should be best utilised or defended. Also of importance may be the exercise of break clauses, an area of practice that commonly creates major disputes. Finally, not all disputes require a landlord and tenant relationship, for example third party neighbour matters such as disputes regarding rights to light and nuisance. This paper considers these issues from a practical, commercial and legal perspective.