Although there have been several attempts by different organisations in the UK to build data bases which hold delinquent tenant information, to our knowledge none of these have been entirely satisfactory or successful. There are several reasons for this:

There's always two sides to every story (dispute) and peoples' emotions get involved which blows things up, sometimes out of proportion.

The only sure way a tenant can be added to such a list is if they have been challenged in court and found guilty, so to speak. Otherwise its one word against another.

As it is, very few tenant disputes actually come to court or go through a full dispute resolution process.

Discrimination, Human Rights and Data Protection laws have a bearing here, so these actions could have legal repercussions.

In any event, even if we were to put delinquent tenants (or even delinquent landlords) on such a list, how long should they stay there? Who decides who goes on and who comes off and when?

The process is frought with legal difficulties. Our advice would be to thoroughly vet your new tenants each time you re-let by having credit checks and referencing carried out and doing indentity checks.

If there are any doubts, don't enter into an agreement, take rent up-front or take a guarantor.

Always do credit checks, referencing and identity checks.

See: 20 Steps to Successful Letting

Note: never rely totally on these standard answers. Before taking action or not, always seek professional advice with the full facts of the case and all documents to hand. LandlordZONE.co.uk

What you have got to appreciate with a commercial lease is that for the term of the lease you are for all intents and purposes the "owner" of the property, pretty much the same as if you were paying a mortgage to the bank, except you are paying rent to a landlord.

With these "ownership" rights go all the other obligations, which mean you are responsible to pay the rent to the end of your term, and meet all the other covenants, come what may.

Break clauses, if you have one, cannot always be relied on to get you out - see:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/FAQ/in...=53&artlang=en

Speak nicely to your landlord - he might just let you off the hook, especially if he had other opportunities to hand, but usually this would be unlikely.

Try to negotiate a cash settlement - buy your way out. This is one option I have given my tenants in the past and they have sometimes been happy to do this on a mutually agreed compensation or lease surrender fee.

The best option for the tenant though is to contact the local agents and put the property on the market - to let. You may even be able to get a premium for the lease if you are lucky?

The landlord is obliged to agree to an assignment without undue delay and providing the new tenant meets similar criteria to the original in terms of credit checks / references etc and appropriate use. Indeed, it's in a landlord's interest to assist.

You will of course be obliged to pay all letting and legal costs, both yours and the landlords for a deed of assignment.

Whilst it is undoubtably sensible that a tenant with a new business insist on a break clause in longer leases, it is not always a straightforward matter to enforce the break.

Case law shows that it is not always possible to exercise the break because leases invariably stipluate that all the lease covenants and notice deadlines must be strictly complied with.

Given the number of covenants in a standard commercial lease, which may run for up to 50 pages, it's almost always possible for the landlord to find something the tenant has not fully complied with. 

When a tenant signs a new lease he should therefore always assume that he will be liable for the full rent for all of the term.  

Case law is now fairly well settled on this principle that a break clause can only be exercised by a tenant if the terms of the lease have been fully complied with when issuing the break notice.

If the tenant is in breach of just one of the obligations the break notice may be ineffective and because timings of notices are often quite specific it is usually not possible to remedy the breach in the timescale available. 

It may be possible to negotiate a break clause based on "substantial compliance with" or "no material breach of" the covenants, but the uncertainty this introduces is almost as bad as the former case, and could be very expensive to resolve in a dispute.

So, landlords and tenants should be aware that leases with conditional break clauses may be fraught with difficulties and that break clauses may not always be effective.

Note: never rely totally on these standard answers. Before taking action or not, always seek professional advice with the full facts of the case and all documents to hand. LandlordZONE.co.uk

The Code aims to promote fairness in commercial leases, and recognises a need to increase awareness of property issues, especially among small businesses, ensuring that occupiers of business premises have the information necessary to negotiate the best deal available to them.

The Code consists of three parts:

- 10 point requirements for landlords in order for their lease to be Code-compliant;
- a guide for occupiers, explaining terms and providing helpful tips; and
- a model Heads of Terms (which can be completed on line and downloaded).

The Code is voluntary so occupiers should be aware that not all Landlords will choose to offer Code-compliant leases. The Government, however, takes a keen interest in ensuring the property industry complies with this voluntary Code.

The Occupier Guide is not a substitute for professional advice and tenants are encouraged to seek professional advice as soon as possible.

Download a copy of the code

Note: never rely totally on these standard answers. Before taking action or not, always seek professional advice with the full facts of the case and all documents to hand. LandlordZONE.co.uk