John Spence, of Thomson Snell & Passmore, tells me that plans by an East London charity to evict up to 25 small businesses near the London Olympics site after they refused to agree rent increases highlight the problem for tenants faced with late rent reviews.
St John Hackney Joint Estates Charity has served eviction notices on traders occupying shops it owns on Well Street, Hackney, claiming they are paying rents well below market rates - having not had a rent rise since 1995.
Commenting on the news, John said "This case serves to highlight again the problems business tenants can face when a landlord seeks to implement a late rent review.
"Last year's decision in Idealview v Bello reaffirmed that in the absence of express terms in a business lease making time of the essence, landlords will not lose their right to trigger historic rent reviews.
"It is therefore vital that business tenants, like the ones in Well Street, who suddenly face an open market valuation rent review after years of having had no rent increases, should object at the earliest possible time to such late rent reviews.
"Tenants should make full use of any arbitration provisions under the terms of their leases. Otherwise, the landlord's late rent review is likely to succeed, and the tenant will be at serious risk of their lease being forfeited if they cannot pay the increased new rent," he said.
Photo by djsosumi via Flickr.
This is a very informational article. I would hope that the renters and landlords would be able to come to some comprimise if the late rent review was to succeed. It is crazy that in one day the rent can double and maybe even triple.