The management of commercial property seems only to get more challenging. This talk addresses three specific areas of difficulty and interest.
Structuring transactions so as to permit downsizing – occupiers increasingly want to build in flexibility to reduce space in future, and this needs some care. Points covered will include:
- Technical issues with side-by-side leases, and options to break as to part
- Apportioning rent and reinstating alterations
- Implications for rent review and guarantors
Repurposing, mixed-use developments, and the law of nuisance – the Tate Gallery case illustrates that the categories of nuisance are not closed, and with residential uses increasingly thrown next to commercial uses, conflicts will arise.
- ‘Coming to the nuisance’ – will it always prevent claims?
- Squaring nuisance with the operation of the planning system
- Can a landlord be responsible for nuisance committed by its tenant?
What’s wrong with lease renewals? – with the Law Commission about to review Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, it is a good time to look at some current problems:
- Assessing rent on renewal – why can’t it be the same as a rent review?
- What are the options for dispute resolution?
- How could contracting-out be improved?
Mark Shelton, Commercial Property Management Law Trainer

