Being invested in our clients’ success, we are relied on for our strategic advice as we assess our client’s business requirements, to ensure that the best possible terms for our clients are obtained. We identify specific provisions that could pose financial and operational risks to our clients such as rent review, insurance and repair obligations and work closely with our clients to agree methods of mitigating any potential issues.
Our clients come from a range of industries and we act on behalf of landlords and tenants which equips us with a real understanding of the specific issues faced by each party in managing real estate and anticipating their future business requirements.
Matters we advise our clients on include:
- Reviewing and advising on Heads of Terms/Memorandum of Lease.
- Drafting and negotiating agreements for lease, leases, deeds of variation and rent deposit deeds to suit client’s needs and requirements.
- Identifying and carrying out various searches required against the property to detect any underlying legal issues (such as breaches of planning permission and the likelihood of a property being classed as contamination land).
- Drafting standard commercial property enquiries (“CPSEs”) and additional specific enquiries.
- Report on the contents and terms of the lease to ensure that each party’s obligations are understood.
- Advise on the amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) payable and whether clients can avail themselves of any exemptions. Our service also includes filing SDLT returns with HMRC and ensuring that the strict time limits for doing this are adhered to.
- Assist in any VAT aspects of a transaction, for example, if a property have been elected for VAT purposes or whether a transaction can be treated as a “Transfer of a Going Concern”.
- Dealing with all Land Registry formalities.
We work closely with our Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department and Property Litigation team, to ensure that we provide a seamless transition between contentious disputes and transactional property matters. Our scope of work also involves the following matters:
- Lease surrenders
- Lease renewals
- Assignments
- Underlettings
- Licences
- Repairs and dilapidations
- Rent reviews
- Break notices