Commercial tenants’ rights beyond the demised premises

Tenants’ rights beyond the demised premises

In a recent article, I examined the importance of commercial tenants being aware of the extent of their demised premises. The principal (but not the only) reason for this is certainty over repairing obligations, which can be costly.

Generally, rights in commercial leases apply only to the demised premises. However, sometimes, tenants are granted rights over land outside of the demise. Such rights can prove fundamental to a commercial tenant. Below are some of the more common.

“Oliver’s breadth and depth of knowledge is exceptional, and I could not have wished for better service. I always felt assured that my matter was in the most capable of hands.”

Commercial tenants’ rights to essential services

A commercial tenant may have rights over land not part of the demise to enable their business to access essential services, such as:

• water;
• electricity;
• gas; and
• telephone.

Without such essential services, the business is unlikely to function properly or at all, making the lease ineffective.

Rights of way

A lease may grant a commercial tenant one or more rights of way, allowing access to the demised premises. Rights of way are fundamental to commercial premises. Without them, the tenant’s occupation may be hindered.

It may seem obvious, but a landlord can only grant a tenant a right of way in the lease agreement if they have the legal right to do so. So, an access way must either be present or the landlord must request that one is made available.

Parking rights

Parking can be fundamental to efficient business operations for employees or customers. The lease may include specific parking rights or the parties may have a separate parking lease.

Landlords typically retain considerable control over car parking rights in a commercial lease. Tenants should be aware of this, as landlords can use this to hold tenants to ransom at a later date.

Scaffolding rights

Say a tenant intends to work on their commercial premises and has permission to do so. Then, they may need to erect scaffolding before commencing work. This may require erecting the scaffolding on land not part of their lease. If so, the lease must grant freedom to erect scaffolding. Such a provision is essential where the lease requires the tenant to repair and maintain the property.