Renting out a commercial property can provide you with a steady source of income, maintaining your level of wealth or even increasing it. However, this does come with some well documented risks. Renting out your facilities is all well and good, but do you have a reasonable, reliable tenant that will stick to the contract signed when the deal was completed? Sometimes, this isn’t the case, and as a landlord, you may have to take action.

A tenant can also be a victim of an unreasonable, unfair landlord that doesn’t stick to their half of the bargain, which is why tenant/landlord disputes are more common than you think. Often disputes require the intervention of a reputable and knowledgeable team of solicitors to help reach a settlement both parties are happy with.

Have any of the following events happened to you? If so, it may be time to settle your dispute with the help of St Helens Law…

Failure to pay rent

One of the most common, if not the most common tenant/landlord dispute, in commercial property is if a tenant fails to pay rent on time or fails to pay the full amount. This can be due to many reasons, but this usually signifies the financial position of the tenant, so it is useful to keep an eye on this in case of any repeats in the future.

Rent arrears (failure to pay rent) can be solved if an agreement can be made between tenant and landlord, but if this continues to occur or an agreement can’t be reached, then the commercial property conveyancing experts at St Helens Law can help. Our legal expertise in the area allows you to be safe in the knowledge that you have a good chance of achieving the outcome you deserve.

Tenant insolvency

As a landlord, it may be useful to keep an eye on your tenant’s financial position so you can anticipate if they might enter insolvency. This is when a business goes into liquidation as they are unable to pay their expenses so have to sell off their assets in order to raise these funds. One of these expenses could be rent, which puts you as a landlord in a difficult position.

If your tenant enters a state of insolvency, then as a landlord you are understandably going to be concerned. This leads to grey areas about how you as a landlord may recover rent arrears, how you can forfeit the lease to cut ties with the insolvent tenant, or any dilapidations (proof of damage, disrepair or defects to the property) once the lease with your tenant ends.

Here at St Helens Law, we can give you a clearer picture of the situation, and help you quickly get the outcome you deserve so your wealth and assets can be kept intact. We always look to work closely with our private law clients to ensure that your financial position is kept in the best possible even if you come into dispute with a tenant.

Disrepair

When you rent/lease out a property to a tenant, you are expecting it to be kept in top condition, right? If this is not the case and damage is done to your commercial property, then this can lead to disputes, as well as if they fail to carry out repairs under the tenancy agreement.

However, the landlord can also be at fault if the property falls into disrepair. If the tenant alerts the landlord to any damage and they are contractually obliged to carry out the repairs, then it can become an issue if the landlord fails to do so and leaves the tenant residing in a property that is not fit for purpose.

At St Helens Law we have been involved in many disrepair disputes, representing both tenant and landlord. We can help you achieve the settlement you deserve with our legal expertise and can give you sensible advice to keep you in a strong position throughout the process.

Contact us

Would you like some professional, sensible advice on how to settle a landlord/tenant dispute over a commercial property in St Helens? We at St Helens Law can provide you with the help you need. To get in touch, give us a call today on 01744 742360 or email us at info@sthelenslaw.co.uk and we can arrange an initial 30-minute consultation FREE of charge. You can also request a FREE consultation by using our enquiry form without even leaving our website.