rent increase above average help please

[thebeautybank]

I have a commerical lease property and the rent review is due in august and she has sent a letter via solicitors that the increase is a huge increase of £1.850 per annum which is approx a 25% increase.

Has any one dealt with this before and can u give me any advice on how to deal with this.

Thankyou.

 

[fificharlie]

Is the lease due for renewal? or is it just a rent reveiw? Also - how long was left on the lease when you first started in the property, or was it a brand new lease? x

 

[Sparklepink]

you can argue a rent review

on the lease i have i have a rent review due every 5 yrs

i bought an existing lease that had just over 15 yrs left (it was a 20 yr lease)
so the review was due about 2 or 3 months after i took over, i wasnt given any warning beforehand of the proposed rise
someone actually came into my salon and rated it after the review was due and i didnt find out the amount til the following june i think it was....

i expected a slight rise maybe above average rise you know maybe 40 or 50 % but boy was i for a shock
Crawley council had decided that the rent was due to go out by 135%
i cant type what id like to really say about my local council as it just wouldnt be polite
but we did fight the increase and managed to get it knocked down to 115% rise in the end.....

the longer the battle goes on tho you have to be aware that you are still are owing rent even if you are just paying your normal (before increase) amount as they will probabley charge the increase as back rent
i fought for a year... letter to and from the council etc... and in that time still paid the norm... but once we had settled i had rent arears which i am paying back over via direct debit quarterly as well as just my monthly rent

you can take the issue to arbitration but you may find like in my case it will cost you more to do that than you will actually save which is why we didnt take it futher as it was just fighting a losing battle

My local council has done this to lots of the local parades and many small businesses that have been around for years and years have now gone as they couldnt cope with the increase.... its sad that a money grabbing council would do this to small business all the local parades now are being over run with betting shops, takeaways and chiropractors who can afford the high rents

just googled and found this BBC NEWS | England | Southern Counties | Shop owners concerned over rent
the lady mentioned in the article nolonger has the shop and i think went bankrupt in the end..... so sad shed been there as long as i can remember

just to add to what fificharlie said....
where in west sussex are you?
how many years have you has the lease before the review was due?
is the property council or privately owned that you lease from/?
has any one been in to rate your property or are they just uppping it?

it maybe a good idea to get a surveyor involved
found this too via google

Find local Chartered Building Surveyors for Rent Review surveyor advice survey

hth
and good luck with it all, keep us posted

Jess
xox

 

[thebeautybank]

hi there , thankyou for your help so far, its a private freeholder and it was an existing lease with 3 year rent reviews so i did expect a rise but not a whopping great big 25% think its above average as looking at others in the area they are not so high and its and off high street location just wondered how to reply to the letter from solictor.

 

[Sparklepink]

hi there , thankyou for your help so far, its a private freeholder and it was an existing lease with 3 year rent reviews so i did expect a rise but not a whopping great big 25% think its above average as looking at others in the area they are not so high and its and off high street location just wondered how to reply to the letter from solictor.

id write them a letter suggesting the price you are prepared to pay maybe the same increase as inflation... thats what we did altho it was rejected we just kept trying and inventually had to settle as the back rent was mounting up
maybe speak to your solictor, after all they are there to help

Jess
xox

 

[Kim Lawless]

My friend has had salons for over 30yrs and she always disputes the rent increase and she always wins. You can go to arbitration. Good luck. x

 

[pazzy]

Where is the incentive for people to start up their own businesses? It really annoys me they can do this.

 

[thebeautybank]

Where is the incentive for people to start up their own businesses? It really annoys me they can do this.

I agree, as i have only had the salon 6 months a rent increase of this amount was not in my business plan forecast so its a real problem when these things happen. The salon was really run down when i bought it and i have invested a lot of money doing it up.

 

[jax]

I would indicate that it would be too much of a stretch for your business to manage to pay - this will leave your landlord with two options.
1. to persist with the increase in the knowledge that you will leave the shop vacant (is this what they want?)
2. Negotiate with you on increase.

Go armed with stats from other rental rates from similar sized shops from round about you.

Good luck.

 

[Sparklepink]

I would indicate that it would be too much of a stretch for your business to manage to pay - this will leave your landlord with two options.
1. to persist with the increase in the knowledge that you will leave the shop vacant (is this what they want?)
2. Negotiate with you on increase.

Go armed with stats from other rental rates from similar sized shops from round about you.

Good luck.

you have just reminded me .... i was advised to do the same and more or less prove how it would make me bankrupt or much the same.... all crap isnt it!

 

[clare carroll]

I have a commerical lease property and the rent review is due in august and she has sent a letter via solicitors that the increase is a huge increase of £1.850 per annum which is approx a 25% increase.

Has any one dealt with this before and can u give me any advice on how to deal with this.

Thankyou.

the same thing happened to me and i had a word with the landlord he keot the rent the same but i took a longer lease 2years he knows i always pay on time and he obviously appreciates that