Commercial Landlord & Tenants

Although there may be a significant responsibility for safety with the tenant, depending on the intended use, the landlord is not exempted from having safety obligations.

 The tenant

The tenant must ensure compliance with Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 which covers the following: 

• Provision of washing and toilet facilities
• Drinking water
• Temperature
• Safe equipment
• Adequate lighting, space and ventilation.

The landlord

The landlord has a set of different safety responsibilities which include: 

• Fixtures and fittings (including lighting and heating)
• Gas and electricity. This may partially be also the responsibility of the tenant (usually for maintenance). The The Landlord and Tenants Act 1985 specifies that the electrical supply must be verified as safe at the start of the tenancy. An Electrical Condition Report (EICR) is recommended at the start; this will need to be renewed every five years.
• Maintenance and repair. The extent of this should be covered in the lease, along with any expectations of the tenant.
• Failing to protect against this risk carries heavy penalties. The lease should specify where this liability falls, but it’s typically at least partially on the landlord.
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 specifies that the “responsible person” is in charge of fire safety, which means the tenant. However, the landlord is often responsible for the provision of the equipment and will remain completely responsible for any communal areas.

Many ask us ‘what’s different about you?’ and we like to reply, ‘because we go the extra mile’. We see our work as building and maintaining good business relationships rather than just earning fees. How we do this is by keeping in constant contact with our clients and intermediaries. From pre to post instruction we ensure that our clients are informed of all legal issues that may impact their business and therefore lives. That is why we provide daily or weekly updates to ALL of our clients whether there is anything to tell them or not (we don’t charge for this we just see it as part of our service). We like our clients to rest peacefully knowing that when we are instructed, and we say ‘we will take it from here’ they know we mean it.

The world is changing, and many individuals are realising that lifestyle is as vital to them as is income. We are the lucky ones who can hand pick lawyers who can provide the best quality advice but at outer city costs. Our offices are in North West London which may not be the most salubrious in the market but at the same time this allows us to charge our clients for what they pay for, our advice NOT our office space.

ALL our lawyers have previously worked in large city-based law firms and continue to practise and offer  the same high level service  they provided to clients in the City but without the pressure and demands often dictated by City law firm. This allows us to be competitive on our fees without compromising our service.

All in all, our clients win, which is the way we like it.

All our clients benefit from the same high level of care and attention whether the instruction is big or small. At the outset of each matter, we discuss the entire process with our clients, including the costs, potential outcomes and issues associated. This is to ensure clients are fully aware, knowledgeable and are in control always. Supporting and ensuring we provide the highest level of services, we offer our constant contact process with the partner or barrister leading  your file, a document log in for matters which are for larger and more complicated instructions and on-going support post transaction should our clients require it. Our aim is not just to get the work done, but to make our clients’ lives easier as we do it, which is why we ensure that our clients have regular access to the resources they need from us.