Legal position if no commercial lease - can we walk away?

[alscot187]

My company obtained a new property in April 2015. It was agreed that we would have a rent-free period as we required to carry out substantial renovations before we could make use of the property. The property had been empty for approximately 10 years. The landlord is now pushing us to sign the lease. The terms of the lease are very unfavourable to us and we are being denied access to parts of the common business park that are essential to our business and the main reason that we moved here. We have not yet started paying any rent as we are still in the rent-free period. The lease is supposed to be for 5 years, so my understanding that it has to be in writing and cannot be verbal. There have been numerous emails between us and the landlords regarding access to the business park and the fact that we want this incorporated into the lease. The landlord is refusing to agree to any of our proposals. What is the legal position as we have not signed the lease. Are we simply just able to cut our losses in terms of the substantial renovations we have carried out and walk away now?

 

Thanks for any help.

[fkofilee]

Is there any contract that was signed when originally starting the renovations?

You could potentially Walk away but it depends on the above question.

[andydd]

Whatever you do would depend on what contract was agreed, if there is nothing then yes there is nothing to stop you walking away, Id assume a lease must be written, contracts CAN be verbal but would be most odd if any sort of property agreement/lease was.

[fkofilee]

Whatever you do would depend on what contract was agreed, if there is nothing then yes there is nothing to stop you walking away, Id assume a lease must be written, contracts CAN be verbal but would be most odd if any sort of property agreement/lease was.

 

Most certainly agree with that. Those sort of agreements are near 100% of the time, in writing.

[alscot187]

I think that a heads of terms was signed. But this document made clear it was subject to contact.

[BazzaS]

You argue there are 2 distinct contracts.

The not yet written / signed contract that already exists and is in use that involves the access to the essential areas, and the new contract that they wish to impose on you that lacks the access (such that you have no intent to sign up to it).

 

They can choose to terminate the existing contract or allow it to run on, but you can't agree to the new contract.