Our lease is coming to an end – what are our options?

Essentially you have two options: stay in your current premises and negotiate a lease renewal, or move to new premises that better suit your business. The right choice depends on factors like whether your current space still fits your team and operations, your location needs, and how the space compares with what’s available in the market.

Start the process at least 12 months before your lease expires! Lease renewal and relocation negotiations can both take considerably longer than expected, and starting late puts you in a weaker negotiating position — landlords know a tenant with little time left has fewer options.

A sensible approach in the run-up to expiry:

1. Review your current premises early — consider whether the space, location and lease length still suit your business, rather than waiting until expiry forces the question.
2. Run both options in parallel — open discussions with your landlord about renewal terms while also researching what’s available in the wider market. Comparing both puts you in a stronger position either way.
3. Check whether your lease is inside or outside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 — this determines whether formal notices need to be served, and by when.
4. Get a market valuation or rent comparison before entering negotiations, so you know whether terms on offer — from your current landlord or a new one — are competitive.
5. Instruct a surveyor and solicitor to support the negotiation and review the legal documents, given how much is at stake in agreeing terms that will bind your business for years.
6. If you’re leaving, factor in dilapidations — your lease will likely require you to return the property in a certain condition (repaired, reinstated, or as set out in any Schedule of Condition), and the landlord may serve a dilapidations claim for the cost of this work. Getting a surveyor’s assessment early gives you time to budget for this, or to carry out the works yourself rather than pay a settlement.
7. Make your decision with enough runway to complete legal formalities and, if relocating, to fit out and move without disrupting your business.

Only once you’ve compared both options properly can you make an informed decision, rather than defaulting to what’s familiar simply because time has run short.