Taking legal advice before acquiring premises, be that either buying or letting, can help to reduce the chance of something untoward happening which could impact on the viability of your business.

Part of the legal process in commercial property transactions is ‘due diligence’ - carrying out the usual searches (for example with the local authority or a desktop environmental search) and also raising enquiries with the sellers or landlord's themselves. It is also generally advisable to have any property surveyed as any physical defects which arise after completion are more than likely to be your problem rather than that of the seller or landlord.

Unless you are lucky enough to have bespoke premises constructed for your business you will need to be aware of the planning history and previous uses of the property. If you want to use premises for a different purpose either now or in the future then that might require planning permission or building regulations consent. In addition, if the premises are leased there may be restrictions in the lease which would either prevent that change taking place or require a licence from the landlord.

Landlord and tenant

A lot of business premises are either leased or rented on a short-term licences. This, for the tenant’s business, provides a great deal of flexibility certainly in the early stages of a new business venture when there is simply not the money nor the ability to borrow to buy premises. The downside of leases are the potential for the landlords to either want the premises back or they want to redevelop the property and the tenant then has to find new premises.

With longer leases these very often contain rent reviews which are generally done on an ‘upwards only’ basis - the rent will never go down.  Longer leases also present their own problems - unless you have negotiated a suitable ‘break’ in the lease -  If your business needs to expand beyond its current premises then you may need to get out of your lease and this can be a very difficult situation. In such a case good legal advice and help can make all the difference.

Regulatory Issues

Once you have bought or leased a property there are further laws and regulations dealing with - for example - the management of asbestos, fire risk assessments and a whole host of further health and safety responsibilities.