Rent and rent review

Reserving and paying rent

The amount of rent must be 'certain'—see Practice Note: Leases and licences of land—key features and differences—Term which is 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 to be ascertained with certainty throughout the term.

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

Although in itself a strong indicator that the parties intended to create a tenancy, rent is not required for a tenancy to exist. 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—see Practice Note: Leases and licences of land—key features and differences.

Commercial rents are usually paid in advance by equal instalments on the usual quarter days (25 December, 25 March, 24 June and 29 September) or on other dates specified in the lease as rent

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Property News

An eggs-cellent result for egg producers? (Bunyan (VO) v Fridays Ltd)

Local Government analysis: Fridays Ltd (‘Fridays’) is a producer of free-range eggs. It owns Chequer Tree Farm in Kent and owns or operates a number of other farms within a ten-mile radius. The case concerned whether three buildings located at Chequer Tree Farm were ‘agricultural buildings’ so that they could take advantage of the agricultural exemption from business rates. Free-range or organic eggs are produced at some of the other farms but no free-range eggs are produced at Chequer Tree Farm itself. Instead, the land there is used to grow wheat and barley to make chicken feed. Eggs are stamped at the producing farm and are then taken to the three buildings for packing. There they are weighed, graded and stamped with their grade and date. Fridays also grades, packages and sells on eggs from some smaller independent farms. The three buildings were held to be within the scope of the exemption. Written by Ian Peacock, barrister at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square.

MHCLG publishes response to consultation on permitted insurance fees for landlords and freeholders

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published the response to its December 2024 consultation on permitted insurance fees for landlords, freeholders and property managing agents.

Homes England publishes guidance on reporting unsafe cladding

Homes England has published guidance on how to report unsafe building cladding using its ‘Tell us tool’ system. The guidance outlines who can submit reports—including leaseholders, residents, freeholders, local authorities, Right to Manage companies and registered providers, among others. It also outlines the eligibility criteria for the Cladding Safety Scheme, which offers funding for the remediation of cladding on buildings outside London that are 11 metres or higher, and on buildings in Greater London between 11 and 18 metres tall. Applications for funding must be submitted via the Building Remediation Hub.

RICS welcomes Welsh Government's Building Safety Bill

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has welcomed the introduction of the Building Safety (Wales) Bill, which establishes a new safety regime for multi-occupied residential buildings. RICS highlights several key differences between the Welsh Bill and the UK Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). The Welsh Bill applies to all multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more units, regardless of height, whereas the BSA 2022 primarily applies to higher-risk buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys. The Bill also expands the definition of higher-risk buildings to include hospitals, care homes and children's homes, while the BSA 2022 focuses solely on residential buildings. Regulatory oversight also differs: in Wales, local authorities will regulate the occupation phase, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will oversee registration, whereas in England, the HSE's Building Safety Regulator oversees both construction and occupation phases.