Leasing and Letting Flashcards
What is the key RICS Professional Statement on leasing/letting practices?
RICS professional statement Code for leasing business premises, 2020
When does RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020 become effective?
1st September 2020
What is the aim of RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
The professional statement is mandatory and was created to:
improve the quality and fairness of negotiations on lease terms and encourage the use of the new HoT to make the legal drafting of leases more efficient.
What are the FOUR sections of the RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Mandatory requirements (Negotiations and heads of terms)
Part 3: Lease negotiation best practice
Part 4: Appendices
(Appendix A - Template heads of terms and checklist; Appendix B - Guide for landlords and tenants)
What does the RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020 say with regards to the negotiations of heads of terms?
H - heads of terms and must summarise the position on a number of aspects
U - unrepresented party must be advised about this code and must be recommended to obtain professional advice
L - letting terms that achieve a fair balance between the parties commercial interests
C - constructive and collaborative manner
- Negotiations must be approached in a constructive and collaborative manner.
- A party not represented by a RICS member or other property professional must be advised by another party of the existence of the code and must recommend professional advice.
- HoTs must be ‘subject to contract’
- Identity and extent of premises
- Length of term
- 1954 Act in/out
- Break rights
- Rent deposit and conditions for release
- Repairing obligations
- Rent free/incentive
- Alienation rights
- Any special rights to be granted (eg parking)
- Conditions – survey, LL/TT board approval, planning permission, measurement
- LL agent is responsible for ensuring HOTs comply with the Code.
What is contained within Appendix A of RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
Template head of terms and a checklist, which can be used should the landlord wish to use their own form of heads of terms document
What is contained within Appendix B of RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
- Guide for landlords and tenants
- Supplemental to the professional statement and does not hold mandatory status
What is a lease?
A binding contract in law that sets out the terms and conditions of the tenancy between parties and defined their rights and obligations
What do rental guarantees typically cover?
Usually make the guarantor liable for the rent and the tenant’s other obligations, including service charge payments and repairs.
Do tenants have to pay VAT on rental payments?
Depends if the property is ‘opted for VAT’ by the landlord.
What does it mean to ‘assign’ a lease?
Transfer the lease to another party who takes over occupation and responsibility for the lease obligations
What does it mean to ‘sublet’ a property?
The existing tenant continues to hold the lease and pay rent to the landlord but sublets the space to another party, from whom the tenant will, in turn, collect rent.
What is an AGA?
- Authorised guarantee agreement.
- Requires the tenant who assigns a lease to guarantee the performance of the lease obligations by the party to whom the lease is assigned.
What provisions can there be in the lease to mean that a tenant does not require an AGA to assign a property?
- If the new tenant is financially strong enough
- If the new tenant pays an appropriate rent deposit and/or provides a suitable guarantor
What is a ‘schedule of condition’?
- Record the condition of the property
- Written description of the property or a set of photographs or both
- Referred to in the lease and attached to it or kept with it
What should be the only condition on a tenant being able to exercise a break option, according to the RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
Should only be conditional on the rent having been paid.
What details with regards to the rent deposit should be included in the lease, according to the RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
- Amount (including whether it will include VAT)
- Time it will be held
- Whether it will be security for only the rent or all the tenant’s obligations under the lease
- Circumstances under which the deposit will be returned to the tenant with any accrued interest
What details with regards to the rent review should included in the lease, according to the RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
- Proposed frequency of rent review
- Method of rent review
- Definitions of market rent should not result in a “headline rent” being adopted
What details with regard to the service charge and insurance payments should the landlord provide an indication of, according to the RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
Should provide an estimate of service charges and other insurance payments
What is said with regards to assignment in RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
Leases should allow tenant to assign the whole of the premises with the landlord’s consent, which is not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed
If a tenant’s repairing obligation are to be limited to the initial condition of the premises, what is required according to the RICS Code for leasing business premises, 2020?
Schedule of condition
Depending on the prevailing market conditions and strength of the tenant covenant, what can the landlord request for additional security if there is a tenant with a weak covenant strength?
- Guarantor/personal guarantee
- Rent deposit
What should the landlord do when holding a rent deposit?
- Personal to the tenant and attached to the lease as a separate deed.
- Legally documented in a rent deposit deed.
- Money held in a separate bank account.
- Interest retained by the tenant.
- Agreed terms for the release of the monies.
- Details of the release mechanism to be stated in the deed.
- Can include top-up mechanisms for rent review uplift.
How would you go about assessing the covenant of a tenant?
I may also assess the previous three years of company accounts, which can be found on Companies House for UK registered businesses. I would advise my client that I am not a specialist in understanding company accounts and would therefore recommend seeking specialist advice on these matters. One could also seek a reference from a previous/existing landlord. Previous / existing landlords reference
What would you recommend if the proposed tenant had a poor covenant?
Depending on the circumstances, I would either recommend not progressing with that tenant or mitigating the risk of the poor/lack of covenant.