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Legal matters

How much notice do I need to give? (commercial tenant)

0 replies

sparklewater · 27/06/2016 13:59

Hiya

I have been renting a small office for the last 19 months. Initially I signed a six month lease, then another one - which took me to 31 Oct 2015. I then remained in the property, paying rent on a monthly basis, until Feb 2016.

On 4 Feb 2016 I was notified that my rent would rise by £70 pcm (as part of a new utilities package) and that I would need to enter into a three-month contract as a new internet and comms package was also being sorted out so the new terms would need to reflect that so they wanted to issue a short-term one in the meantime. All fine. That came to an end on 31 May 2016.

Since then I have continued to pay my rent on a monthly basis, waiting for more information on the new terms.

I have since been told - on 15 June 2016 - that a new contract would be starting on 1 July 2016, with further new costs adding another £65 pcm to my contract.

I replied, giving my notice. The landlord initially asked me to stay, then offered me a (very small) reduction in the costs, then said I could stay on a rolling lease so I didn't need to rush and get out before the end of the month.

I said thank you but explained that there was no need (I can work from home until I find somewhere else).

I then got a formal notice to quit acceptance letter saying I will have to remain here until 31 August 2016 (the original contracts all gave a two-month notice period).

If it makes any difference, the contracts all included a section about security of tenure: 'NOTICE THAT SECTIONS 24 TO 28 OF THE LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT 1954 ARE NOT TO APPLY TO A BUSINESS TENANCY'

Can they force me to stay even though the lease has been rolling over from month to month for a few periods during the tenancy?

Thanks in advance for any help!

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