Rent

Rent

Rent is not required for a tenancy to exist, although it is a strong indicator that the parties intended to create a tenancy. If the other ‘hallmarks’ identified in Street v Mountford are present (ie exclusive possession of defined premises for a term), then a tenancy can exist even if no rent is reserved or payable.

The amount of rent must be ‘certain’. This does not mean that the lease must state the actual figures for the whole of the term, however, there must be a mechanism (usually a rent review clause) allowing the rent throughout the term to be ascertained with certainty.

No particular form of words is required to reserve rent, although the formula ‘yielding and paying during the term’ is widely used.

Commercial rents are usually paid in advance by equal instalments on the quarter days (25 December, 25 March, 24 June and 29 September) or on other dates specified as rent payment days. In the absence of an express agreement that rent is payable in advance, it will be payable in arrears.

Where rent is payable quarterly in advance, the