Rent

Rent is the sum due by a Tenant to the landlord for use or occupancy of a property. The amount of rent must be ascertainable from the lease. This does not mean it must be stated for the whole Term of a lease, but an initial rent must be identified, along with a mechanism (usually a rent review clause) to enable future rents to be ascertained. Rent is usually stated to be exclusive of VAT, payable without deduction and without demand. See Practice Note: Rent and rent review in commercial leases in Scotland.

Commercial rents are usually paid in advance by equal instalments on the quarter days (28 February, May, August, and November), although English parties sometimes prefer to choose English quarter days (25 December, 25 March, 24 June and 29 September). Payment of rent monthly is also becoming increasingly popular. Where rent is payable quarterly in advance, the whole instalment is payable on the quarter day. This point can be important where a tenant