Commercial Lease Heads of Terms

Subject-to-contract heads of terms for a new business lease, covering rent, term, breaks, repair, service charge, security of tenure, energy efficiency and costs.

Editable Word document
11
10pages
Guidance notes included
aml consultancy solutions

Landlord & property

Commercial Lease Heads of Terms

About this document

What it’s for

Heads of terms record the main commercial points agreed between a landlord and a tenant before solicitors draft the lease. Clear, complete heads of terms save time and legal costs and avoid arguments later about what was agreed.

When to use it

  • Once the main terms of a letting of shops, offices, workshops or industrial units have been agreed
  • By landlords, tenants or their agents, before instructing solicitors
  • For new leases and lease renewals in England and Wales

What’s inside

The document is laid out in the sections below. Each one comes with a plain-English guidance note explaining what it does and what to change.

  • 1. The parties
  • 2. The property
  • 3. Term and break
  • 4. Rent
  • 5. Security for the rent
  • 6. Service charge and insurance
  • 7. Repair, decoration and condition
  • 8. Use and alterations
  • 9. Assignment, underletting and sharing
  • 10. Security of tenure – Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
  • 11. Energy efficiency and sustainability
  • 12. Business rates, utilities and other outgoings
  • 13. Costs, conditions and timetable
  • 14. Exclusivity and confidentiality (optional)
  • 15. Other terms
  • Appendices
  • For the landlord
  • For the tenant

How to complete it

  • Fill in each section and delete options that do not apply
  • Attach a plan and, if relevant, a schedule of condition
  • Keep the “subject to contract” wording on every page
  • Send to both solicitors with the property details and EPC

Key points to check

  • Agree early whether the lease will be contracted out of the 1954 Act
  • Check the EPC rating against the minimum energy efficiency standards
  • Ask for a service charge budget and the last few years’ accounts

Our templates are professionally structured starting points for UK businesses, not legal advice. For anything complex, unusual or high-value, have your final version checked by a solicitor.

Included in the pack

Landlord & property

£20

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Editable Microsoft Word files

Guidance notes in every document

Written for UK businesses

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