Fire/sound lining- can L (+Council) make me pay for work?

[Blundell L]

I have a 9 year full repairing lease on a comerical property with 5 years left to run. I am hopefully in the process of selling the business and handing over the lease. Unfortunately it was my first business and did not get good advice from my solicitor and took the porpety on without a survey.:( Things however have ran smoothly until now. Landlord has said that the continuous lining on the ceiling has become discontinous and it is my responsiblilty to fix it. He said it is something that the council have said is necessary. The plaster from the ceiling was like that when we moved in so unfortunately under the terms of the contract I understand that I would be responsible for the repair. I rang the council to ask them to send me the report from his findings and was told that they had never been into the shop that my landlord had applied for a planning application to turn the flats above from 4 to 6 and stated this work was to be done. He told me that if the flats were to stay as they were this work would not need to be done but due to the renovations and planning would fall under the new building regulations. Off the record he said that he could not believe that the landlord was putting the onus on me. The landlord is quoting the section in my lease were it states I am to comply with any local authority directions. I then asked the landlord for the report that tells of this direction and was sent a schedule of works typed up by the landlord. My questions are as follows:
Is this an upgrade rather than a repair?
Unfortunatley this is the businesses busiest time of year and the work would mean that we would have to close for approx 2 weeks. The business cannot yet finance this work if i has to be paid for by me. I have been told be the council that I can still trade safely and the work only is essential before a tenant moves in above. If I have to pay can I wait till a quieter period in trading?
At the moment my worry is that the prospective buyers are being put off, would really appreciate it if someone could advise me on were I stand.

[Editor]

This all sounds a little confusing - are you talking about fire lining?
Your lease states you must comply with all local authority requirments, but this surely cannot mean you must upgrade your unit to the latest building regs because the landlord is doing alterations above?
If I were you in this position I would bring in a local commercial property surveyor to help you with this - it's not going to cost a furtune and the last thing you want is to lose the sale of your business.

[Blundell L]

Thank you for your replies, answering your questions, yes it is a fire and sound lining. The council building maintenance say that it is highly unlikely that there was ever one in place prior to me taking on the lease. It is due to the renovations above that the work now comes under new building regulations and this work has to be completed before the tenants can move in to the renovated flats. If alternations had not been made and a planning application to extend had not been submitted then the council would not be involved and the work need not be done.

[SteveP]

He told me that if the flats were to stay as they were this work would not need to be done but due to the renovations and planning would fall under the new building regulations. Off the record he said that he could not believe that the landlord was putting the onus on me.

Nobody here can answer your question with certainty. You need advice from your own chartered building surveyor. Since the floor/ceiling is already a fire barrier you are obliged to maintain it. Even if it was in its present condition when you took on the lease you may be liable to repair it, that will all depend upon the precise wording of the lease which a surveyor can read and interpret for you.

The landlord cannot require you to upgrade the it merely because it needs to be upgraded as a consequence of a material change of use (for building regs purposes), but as the courts have held repair may entail replacement of parts and if so then any replacement should be to current standards. Equally the courts have held that a landlord cannot expect to be given back a wholly different thing to that they gave the tenant. These things are often a question of degree.

You will need a chartered building surveyor to advise you. The council, as you have already discovered, won't advise (quite rightly, they don't know anything about the law of dilapidations) you or support you in any way. And without seeing the premises and your lease any other advice can only be vague.