Legal Advice for Landlords

A step by step guide when acting as a Landlord’s Solicitor

Although each transaction in our Commercial Property Department is unique and tailored to your individual needs, this guide should provide an indication of the steps undertaken and to understand the procedure of your Landlord’s solicitors.

1. Landlord’s solicitor is opening the file and ‘taking instructions’:

At the start of each new file we will require you to:

• Verify your identity;
• If appropriate, identify the origin of funds to be used in the transaction and supply evidence;
• Provide ‘Heads of Terms’ setting out the terms agreed between parties.

2. Contact the tenant’s solicitors:

We will contact the tenant’s solicitors to:

• Confirm that we act in relation to the proposed transaction;
• Verify the Heads of Terms.

3. Put together draft documentation:

We will request information from you in order to prepare the draft papers. This would typically include:

• Replies to Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs).
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
• Service charge information.
• Buildings insurance certificate.

We will use this information, along with the Heads of Terms, to then issue the Lease for the purposes of the transaction.

If required, we will also produce:

• Rent deposit deed: to record any deposit paid by the tenant;
• License for alterations: a consent for works at the property;
• Statutory declaration and notice: to exclude the protection offered by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954

4. Enquiries:

As part of the tenants’ due diligence, they may raise enquiries or make comment on the draft papers. We will liaise with the solicitors and client to ensure that enquiries are answered.

5. Pre-completion:

Once the Lease is in an approved form, we will prepare the final document(s) for signature. You will be required to sign the documents(s) in the presence of a witness.

If your property is charged to a bank, we will submit a request for formal consent to the lease before completion.

6. Completion Monies:

If you require that we collect a rent deposit, rent and or service charge at completion, we will prepare a completion statement and forward a copy to the Tenant’s Solicitor.

The tenant’s solicitor will transfer these monies to our client account before completion.

7. Landlord’s solicitor and tenant’s solicitor are completing the Lease

Once we are holding the Lease signed by you and the tenant’s solicitor holds their papers, we will be able to complete. The completion of the lease (and any supplementary documents) takes place by both solicitors over the telephone. Once the documents are completed, we will advise you accordingly. Keys can then be released to the Tenant.

8. Post-completion:

Following completion, we will send your signed document(s) to the tenant’s solicitors and supply you with a copy of the papers signed by the Tenant upon receipt.

Hope this helps you understand your landlord’s solicitor and the procedure.

Contact our landlord solicitors in Gloucestershire today

For expert landlord and tenant advice, please contact our local offices in Gloucester or Stroud today. If you have a quick question or would like to request a call back, you can also use our quick online enquiry form.