Leasehold Reform

Leasehold Reform is the ongoing process of converting long leasehold tenures to absolute freeholds via exercising tenants right of compulsory acquisition, rights to manage, and information. Long leases are a vestige of the past, once used to perpetuate land ownership amongst an oligarchy of landowners. Rhetorical arguments that long leases facilitate estate management are subordinate to the reality of today’s landlords using leasehold as a private tax upon their tenants.

Andrew Orme has been thinking and writing about leasehold reform since being a student in the mid-1990’s and has experience practicing in this field. We have a portfolio of leasehold reform cases. Andrew regularly acts as expert witness and surveyor advocate to the Lands Tribunal on matters of leasehold reform and as McKenzie Friend at the County Court. Andrew undertakes pro bono conveyancing for leasehold reform.

View a list of our published cases

Rent Review and Lease Renewal

Nearly all business leases in England and Wales will have a right to renew the lease at the end of the term, and rights to end leases. The process of renewal and termination involves legal notices. For renewals a new rent and new lease terms must be negotiated and failing an agreement determination by the property chamber of the courts and tribunals service. For termination of Leases the Tenant must ensure there are no extant breaches of the lease before vacating.

Most business leases contain a rent review clause, to permit the Landlord to increase the rent. This process requires a negotiation of the new rent based on the rent review mechanism in the lease, usually an open market rent. Rent increases may be nil or a monetary amount and must be agreed. Failing agreement there is typically recourse to an expert of arbitrator.

Andrew has experience representing clients in lease renewal and rent review. This discipline combines a knowledge of legal notices, and valuation skills to collate and prove the correct new rent and suitable lease terms.

Business Rates

Owner and occupiers of business premises in England and Wales are subject to payment of business rates. The amount of tax payable is assessed as a set proportion of the market rent and this is published by the Business Rates List. There are exemptions from the tax. Sometimes the list is incorrect, for example where an owner splits a property into smaller units for rent, or the value in the List does not reflect the market value.

We can offer advice on business rates liability, and representation on claiming exemptions, changing the list following property conversions, and appeals against the List where the tax is not correctly assessed.

Pro Bono Law

We can offer legal advice on land law, landlord and tenant law and related contract law. Our experience is useful for complex legal situations, or where the cost of legal representation is prohibitive.

We are permitted to offer Legal Advice where we act for no fee (pro bono) by the Legal Services Act 2007.