Compensation for non-renewal of tenancy

[smeggydreads]

Hi there,

does anyone know the steps to be taken when a new tenancy is refused?

We signed a tenancy agreement for a two year lease on a commercial property under the verbal assurance that after the two years we could get a new lease drawn up for a longer period. In the event, the other tenants have moved out and the landlord has decided to reposess for refurbishment. We have invested approximately twice the yearly rental in the property in terms of meeting planning/license obligations / flooring/ etcetc

We are a small community group without the money to pay for solicitors etc. - most of the above expenditure was gained thorugh community funding. Using the 'free consultations' that most legal places provide we are confident that we can get compensation for the notice given to us - we just need to know how to go about the process.

Any ideas/ links / guides?

thanks

Adam

[Paul_f]

Commercial leases can either be within the jurisdiction of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 or they can be exempted out, but the situation has changed as recently as last year when it is now much easier to opt out. Opting out means the tenant has no security of tenure.

As your lease commenced in 2003 then it is very doubful if your lease is exempt which is to your advantage, as you do appear to have some security of occupation.

This gives you the right to have the lease renewed unless the landlord can prove sufficient grounds to repossess, but he would have to go to court to do this and could lose! You might find more information from the home page on this site as Tom the Editor is pretty knowledgeable about commercial leases and there are several links available. One I can recommend is the British Property Federation site at www.bpf.org.uk where a comprehensive explanation should be avialable. You could also put key word into your search engine which will lead you to many sources of information.