Difficult Landlord

[Nee]

Hi, 3 years ago we bought a Leasehold cafe, its in a large building with 3 other business's. Last year the Landlord decided to have massive repairs done to the outside of the building ie; part of the roof, re-rendering, redecoration, double glazed windows etc etc. He has not repaired anything for over 40 years. We have a FRI lease which says we are responsible for the windows which is fair enough. The Landlord did not give anyone 3 estimates for anything and had no discussion with anyone. the building is in a conservation area and he was offered a grant which he refused. he just went ahead and had all the repairs and renewals done. Over this Easter we lost 9 weeks trade because of the scaffolding etc. We now have various spreadsheets from him giving us fluctuating prices for the work, our lease is payment within 7 days, he is now charging interest. Our bill at the moment is in excess of 14 thousand pounds, we are a small business and do not have this money. At the start we consulted 2 different Solicitors who told us not to pay until the work is finished, our present Solicitor has written to his Solicitor asking for the original invoices as we all believe that he has divided the cost into 4 instead of 5, he will not reply, just keeps on sending out the spreadsheets. The cafe is now up for sale and this will hold up a sale, the 15 year lease is up next March and we need a new lease for the buyers. What do we do to move this on. We are both approaching retirement and this man will take every penny that we have, surely he cant get away with it. Help.

[Editor]

These are always a source of resentment on the part of the tenant and a pain on the part of the landlord.
If the landlord neglects the building to the point of deriliction the tenants businesses suffer, and they are resentful, on the other hand if the landlord keeps the property in A1 condition, the tenants benefit, but then resent paying for this.
A good landlord keeps the property in good condition, but makes fair repairs and charges.
FRIs are not cut and dried or black and white - there's always room for arguement as to the original condition of the building, the length of the tenancy, differing prices, items needing repair, and therefore approriate charges.
There's always two sides to any argument and people exaggerate - for example "we lost 9 weeks trade" when in fact your mean - we had 9 weeks of slightly interupted trading due to scaffolding!
On the other hand, your landlord does not appear to be following recommended practice. He has neglected repairs for years, you claim. Certainly with work of this magniture estimates should have been sought, at least 2, possibly 3, and all costs should be open and above board, with schedule of works and invoices available for inspection.
RICS have just published a new code of practice on service charges (http://www.rics.org/RICSWEB/getpage.aspx?p=vhw0PnGE3kKSYKKDnu0CZg)which I think you will find useful.
You should also see the Code of Practice for Commercial Leases in England & Wales (http://www.bpf.org.uk/publications/downloads/cop_for_commercial_leases.pdf#search=%22Code%20of% 20Practice%20%2B%20Service%20Charges%20in%20Commer cial%20leases%22)
In this situation I would strongly recommend that you use the services of a Chartered Surveyor in your area to advise and help you put together a strong case to appeal, whether you go down the route of straightforward negotiation with the landlord (possibly collectively with the other tenants) the court route or ADR.

[Markonee1]

Check your lease to see if you are liable for only repairs rather than some of these 'improvements' otherwise he could add a swimming pool as well! I get a feeling he is trying to lumber you with costs that he should carry prior to issuing new leases in the 'new improved' premises. Catalogue all those 'improvements' and get legal advice on them.
Mark

[Nee]

Thank you for your helpful advice. Today we received yet another spreadsheet detailing all of the work, we now owe him nearly 14 thousand pounds. He has received 15 letters from us and 4 from Solicitors asking for the original invoices, everything is just ignored. We are in 'Groundhog Day', if we were not so desperate to sell the business we would wait until he takes court action, but we believe he knows that if we get a buyer and we need a new lease for them we will then pay whatever he asks for. He has refused to meet any of his tenants to discuss this, I have already sent him a copy of the code of practise, we have told him we will have to sell the business to pay for his repairs but he said its not his problem. So we are at stalemate. By the By, we did loose 2 thirds of our business due to the scaffolding over the Easter period, we are in a small tourist town in Cornwall and Easter is the BIG one, and our accounts over the past 2 years show this as a fact. Sorry but what is ADR, Thanks anyway. Nee.

[propman2]

adr = alternative dispute resolution............a faster resolution than going to court?