Forum - Business Lease

Business Lease

Mon, 05/04/2010 - 00:09 — m_kapoor

Hi there,

I took out a 10 year lease on a commercial property in 2007 for a new start-up. My new venture failed and I was forced to close the business in the first 6 months. As with most failed businesses, i had financial difficulties, which resulted in non-payement of rent. The landlord took me to court, petitioning for bankruptcy, which they were successful in. After the bankruptcy, I reached an agreement with the landlord to pay a lump sum to settle the lease but with the condition of having the lease under my name until i find a suitable tenant. I agreed to this i had no other alternative and with a lack of financial support i didnt consult a lawyer at the time.

Now I have come to know that the lease was never actually legally mine. i.e it was never registered/transferred onto my name at the land registry . The lease was supposed to have been completed on 19th June 2007and at the time we thought it had been completed. However to have been validly completed, the previous lease needed to be surrendered and also the landlords mortgagees had to consent to the lease. Neither of these requirements happened and so the lease could not be registered and was void. Therefore I never legally became a tenant.

Can I now claim my rent deposit and the lump sum I paid back?

Thanks