Henry
24-10-2006, 13:02 PM
Hi, any advice on the following will be gratefully received.
Back in July 2003 I took over the lease on a shop. It was quite a strange situation. The "landlord" rents to "person a" and "person a" sublets to "person b".
"Person B" had one year left on a two year lease (up intil April 2004). He was losing money. "Person a" agreed that as long as "person b" found a new tenant to cover the cost until the end of the lease. all would be ok.
This is where I came in. My agreement was with "person b". All i signed was a copy of his lease, with both his and my signature on the back page. I did not enter into a written agreement with "person a". Although I did give "person a" 3 months rent as a deposit.
All went well, then when the lease ended in April 2004 I agreed an increased rent with "person a". Verbally this level was set for a further 5 years. This was because "person a" had signed a new 5 year lease with the landlord. I also increased the amount of the deposit held by the landlord (3 months rent) to reflect the increase in rent. No written agreement was ever signed.
I have now found a more suitable shop premises nearby and would like to vacate the premises (if possible). Obviously "person a" isn't going to be over the moon as he will need to find a new tenant for the next 2.5 yeare. My questions are:
[LIST]
As there is no written agreement, do I have the right to give "person a" reasonable notice to vacate the premises (say 3 months)?
If so, could I use the deposit as my last 3 months rent?
Are there costs the landlord could impose on me without a written agreement?
Any other forseeable problems?
Many thanks
Henry
Back in July 2003 I took over the lease on a shop. It was quite a strange situation. The "landlord" rents to "person a" and "person a" sublets to "person b".
"Person B" had one year left on a two year lease (up intil April 2004). He was losing money. "Person a" agreed that as long as "person b" found a new tenant to cover the cost until the end of the lease. all would be ok.
This is where I came in. My agreement was with "person b". All i signed was a copy of his lease, with both his and my signature on the back page. I did not enter into a written agreement with "person a". Although I did give "person a" 3 months rent as a deposit.
All went well, then when the lease ended in April 2004 I agreed an increased rent with "person a". Verbally this level was set for a further 5 years. This was because "person a" had signed a new 5 year lease with the landlord. I also increased the amount of the deposit held by the landlord (3 months rent) to reflect the increase in rent. No written agreement was ever signed.
I have now found a more suitable shop premises nearby and would like to vacate the premises (if possible). Obviously "person a" isn't going to be over the moon as he will need to find a new tenant for the next 2.5 yeare. My questions are:
[LIST]
As there is no written agreement, do I have the right to give "person a" reasonable notice to vacate the premises (say 3 months)?
If so, could I use the deposit as my last 3 months rent?
Are there costs the landlord could impose on me without a written agreement?
Any other forseeable problems?
Many thanks
Henry