If you are a tenant, it is not that simple to get out of a lease. A lease is actually a legal contract and it is binding on you. You could be dragged to court by your landlord if you break it. However, depending on your specific circumstances, maybe your landlord would consider negotiating a compromise.
If you want to know how to quit business leases, then let me tell you that it depends on a variety of factors. Some important questions would include who wants to quit the lease? Is the lease a true business lease? Is the lease to be terminated before the contract ends? Is the tenant in breach?
Quitting a business premises lease could lead to some technical and interesting points of law that should be great news for legal professionals, but not at all for the tenant trying to come out of the lease contract before time. Tenants and landlords would be requiring guidance and practical advice regarding the effect of 1954 Act on the business leases and the strategies that could be applied for securing freedom from the lease contract, as desired.
Reasons for Quitting a Business Lease Early
Much depends on the reasons why you wish to terminate the business premises lease contract before time. So examine the most common reasons of lease quitting. Visit leasequit.com for short-term leases and effective lease quitting solutions. Here are some common causes:
- The current premises are no longer appropriate. You may be having too much space or you may want to actually relocate your business. You may have encountered challenging times in your business and it has become mandatory for you to actually downsize your regular operations.
- Your current business premises are now proving to be very costly and you are not finding it affordable now. This seems to be pretty tricky as you may end up spending quite a lot more in terminating the lease before it is due.
- Some other business has come up with a higher rent for your current business premises. You could consider terminating or assigning your lease or even think of subletting at a profit.
- You are thinking of improving the current lease on your present business premises. This could involve surrendering your present lease and get it exchanged with a brand new one on better terms. You must consult with a professional solicitor or chartered surveyor before getting into any such legal agreements.
Ways How a Tenant Could Terminate a Business Lease
The tenant may not continue with his tenancy and could effectively serve notice to the landlord about quitting the contract. He could alternatively depend on break clause whenever appropriate.
He could consider vacating the premises before the original lease contract expires thus terminating the lease and all his relevant liabilities. Moreover, if the tenancy seems to have continued beyond the originally agreed fixed term, and if now the tenant wants to quit, he could give three months’ notice to the landlord. The tenant could employ other options such as negotiating lease surrender or assigning the lease to another person.
Here are the most useful ways for a tenant to quit lease before time:
- The tenant should find another replacement tenant as landlords would then be cooperative and you could easily terminate the lease.
- The tenant must try and assign his present business lease agreement. You could look for a prospective tenant. He should be ready to accept your current lease agreement terms.
- Identifying other vacant space belonging to the same landlord is a good idea. Look for other vacant business premises belonging to the same property owner. For instance, if you are looking to cut down your expenses by shifting to a relatively smaller business premises, you could look for any vacant space that maybe within the current property.
Ways How a Landlord Could Quit Lease Early
If you are a landlord and want to terminate the lease agreement early, you must consider using a break clause or agree to surrender or a forfeiture of the lease depending on the failure of your tenant to meet the lease obligations. The common grounds could be tenant’s lack of initiative in repairing and maintaining the business premises, his delays in paying up the rents. The landlord could ask for lease quitting if he is genuinely interested in demolishing or rebuilding.
Conclusion
Ways to quit a business lease would vary as per the tenant’s and the landlord’s intentions. You must evaluate and assess if it is a true business contract. All leases seem to be quite different and varied. Tenants and landlords with business leases must seek professional help and take legal recourse as soon as possible.