How can you

[brenda]

end the lease you have on a property, which has been broken into 3 times in 4 weeks .
The police took details and did all the usual stuff and a man has been jailed for 6 months for the offences.

The shop was rented by my friend and her husband, and together for the last 5 years they ran the shop together.

At thelast break-in there was so much mess that my friend is so distressed that she refuses to go back there and is very frightened as well.

The problems arise at night and emanate from a derelict building next door which seems to house all sorts of undesirables including drug addicts.Thepolice are aware of this.

My friends have removed all their stock, their rent is paid for the next 2 months, and lease payments are up to date.

The problem is that they are tied into a lease on the property which has a few years to run.


They want out of this situation obviously, nor do they want to pay any more money ,to anyone, because neither of them has an income at the present time.They are both feeling totally defeated , can anyone help please.

[paraffin]

Hi brenda:

First of all, sympathy to your friends. However, I don't quite understand what you're suggesting.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but do your friends expect someone else, not aware of the problems there, to come along and take over the lease? In other words, they would try not to reveal anything, just let them take over, and leg it?

Have your friends discussed the matter with whoever the property is leased from at the moment? If so, what was the outcome of that? Or have they not approached them?

And do you know who actually owns the problem house next door? Council house?

I don't know if you're telling us the whole story here.

[brenda]

paraffin--thank you for your answer .Have given you all the details Ihave.

They would not want anyone else to take over such a bad situation, but that is down to the landlord.who he rents to and what he chooses to disclose.Surely it cannot be the responsibility of a previous tenant who has leftto disclose any probs.Can it?

[themas]

They have a contract (the lease) and can only end it early with the landlord's agreement. If they cannot get agreement and do not pay the rent then the landlord will repossess the property but they will still be liable for the rent, at any rate until it is re-let.

If they cannot pay the rent the landlord may well take Court action against them which will affect their credit rating for the future.

The best thing they can do is to put the problem to the landlord and see what happens.

[brenda]

Thank you both, an update now, the shop is empty , they have removed what remains of their stock and when my friend went to collect his post yesterday , it had been broken into again.police informed , another crime number issued , and the landlord informed..
The rent is paid for the next 2 months as previously stated and the leaes is paid for the remainder of the year.

They are concerned that they will have to pay the remainder of the the lease term for the next 4 years, which amounts to about 32k.Is there a way to get out of this.?

[pink-kittens]

Does the lease have a get out clause for the landlord? IE: does it say the LL can give the tennant notice to leave?

[brenda]

Sorry I don't know that , but thanks.

It may be that the landlord and the leaseholder are the same person but I don't know.

[themas]

I don't understand your distinction between rent and lease payments. The normal commercial situation is that the tenant (lessee) pays rent to the landlord (lessor). The tenant may also have to pay service charges (for things such as insurance of the building if the landlord is responsible for it) but these are generally much smaller than the rent.

You say rent paid for 2 months & lease for rest of year. Can you explain the difference between them. It sounds like an unusual form of lease.

In a normal lease, if it has 4 years to run and there is not a tenant's break clause in the lease (i.e. one enabling the tenant to end the lease early) then the tenant is bound to pay the rent for the rest of the term, unless the landlord is successful in re-letting to someone else. However, if the lease is not a normal one other arrnagements may apply. A close study of the lease - perhaps with advice from a solicitor experienced in commercial leases - may be needed.

If your friends do not have the money to pay then the landlord may take Court action.