Headlease

[Christiane]

I'm moving premises with the same landlord on the same street. I was given the new contract last week and it mentions headlease. It's completely different from the one I signed for the current premises. I think the original one was drafted by the estate agents, whereas this time I dealt directly with the landlord.
My question is do I need a copy of the headlease?

 

[Cicero]

I'm moving premises with the same landlord on the same street. I was given the new contract last week and it mentions headlease. It's completely different from the one I signed for the current premises. I think the original one was drafted by the estate agents, whereas this time I dealt directly with the landlord.
My question is do I need a copy of the headlease?

The headlease is the lease your landlord has with the owner of the building. In other words, your landlord is the tenant and you are the subtenant.

You don't need to bother with the headlease, since your contract is with your landlord.

 

[Christiane]

Thanks, wasn't sure. I was surprised actually as I thought they owned the building!

 

[kulture]

The headlease is the lease your landlord has with the owner of the building. In other words, your landlord is the tenant and you are the subtenant.

You don't need to bother with the headlease, since your contract is with your landlord.

I would have to disagree. You need to see the head lease. For a start you need to know whether the landlord has the right to grant a lease. There are other potential pitfalls. You really should ask your solicitor about this.

See this thread about the perils of ignoring the headlease http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=198337

 

[Cicero]

I would have to disagree. You need to see the head lease. For a start you need to know whether the landlord has the right to grant a lease. There are other potential pitfalls. You really should ask your solicitor about this.

See this thread about the perils of ignoring the headlease http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=198337

Yes, my answer was rather badly phrased.
The head lease doesn't affect her obligations since she isn't a party to it but she should get a solicitor to look at it for all the reasons you say.

 

[Epitome Law]

Yes you need to see the headlease and you need a solicitor. Agree with Kulture, about seeing the Headlease so you can check your landlord is able to grant the lease to you. My colleague is the property lawyer, but I add that your lease is also likely to include an obligation to comply with the terms of Headlease. You will need to know what it says.

 

[Hombre]

Also commercial property/lease law is different depending where you are i.e. Scotland versus England & Wales.

 

[kulture]

Yes, my answer was rather badly phrased.
The head lease doesn't affect her obligations since she isn't a party to it but she should get a solicitor to look at it for all the reasons you say.

This is an understatement. It demonstrates the dangers of asking for advice on a public forum. A quick glib answer can be potentially very damaging if the OP does not return and look at the further posts. In this case it is probably no big deal, as the OP already has a relationship with the landlord and it is probably all above board.

 

[deniser]

your lease is also likely to include an obligation to comply with the terms of Headlease. You will need to know what it says.

Not only that but underleases are usually drafted with reference to the headlease so that instead of repeating all the clauses in full in the underlease, it will often cross refer to the headlease so without the headlease you can't even read your underlease.

It is absolutely essential to have a copy of the headlease.

 

[kulture]

To be honest, the real answer is that it is absolutely essential to use a solicitor.

 

[Hombre]

DITTO Sound advice

 

[Christiane]

Thanks, I knew there would be more replies and I haven't seen the landlord's accountant who gave me a copy yet. I'm in no hurry as I have the keys and I have dealt with the landlord before, hes very accommodating so I'm sure it's all fine. I'll get it checked over, the headlease is mentioned quite a lot in the lease.

 

[Hombre]

On what basis did you 'accept' the keys? In Scotland this would not necessarily be a wise move on your part without first agreeing lease & physical condition of Unit. I can't comment for England & Wales where the law may be different.

 

[Christiane]

On what basis did you 'accept' the keys? In Scotland this would not necessarily be a wise move on your part without first agreeing lease & physical condition of Unit. I can't comment for England & Wales where the law may be different.

I'm dealing with the same landlord, I'm moving two doors away from where I am now. He gave me the keys and the lease at the same time but I said I wanted to go over it as it's different from the previous lease. I had to hurry things up as I can only move in at Easter, otherwise next opportunity would be Christmas.
The building is brand new, there's only a few extra sockets he has agreed to organise. I have the phone number of his handyman who's supposed to do the work, he already did some work in the unit I'm currently in.
The landlord's office is in the building next to mine.

I think the circumstances here are a bit different to working with an unknown landlord, etc.

 

[Hombre]

As my Granny often said: 'The devil is in the detail'.

 

[deniser]

I agree with Hombre.

Once you accept the keys you may be deemed to have accepted the terms in the document handed to you whether you have signed the lease or not.

It doesn't matter that you know this landlord; a third party is involved here with the headlease and you could find some nasty surprises.

You should also have the licence to underlet in place from the superior landlord before you spend any money on the property. There is another thread on this forum where it wasn't (with bad consequences.)

 

[kulture]

Thanks, I knew there would be more replies and I haven't seen the landlord's accountant who gave me a copy yet. I'm in no hurry as I have the keys and I have dealt with the landlord before, hes very accommodating so I'm sure it's all fine. I'll get it checked over, the headlease is mentioned quite a lot in the lease.

It does not matter how accomodating he is. GET A SOLICITOR TO CHECK IT NOW.