Commercial lease renewal: tenant advice choice in England and Wales

For commercial lease renewal in England and Wales, commission a solicitor for protection, notices and lease wording; an independent tenant-side surveyor for market-rent and condition evidence; and both where those issues overlap.[5][6][7]

Choose a solicitor, a tenant-side surveyor or both

• Solicitor — legal position and documentation. Ask whether the tenancy is protected or contracted out, what any notices mean, and who will negotiate the lease wording. Nicholas & Co describes advice on renewal rights, notices and disputes; Clarkslegal explains the solicitor’s role in incorporating agreed commercial terms into the lease and negotiating its drafting.[5][7]
• Tenant-side surveyor — rent and property evidence. Commission advice on comparable local rents and, where relevant, condition records, dilapidations or rateable value relevant to possible compensation.[6][7][8]
• Both — repair evidence and wording. Have the surveyor establish the condition evidence and proposed limits, then ask the solicitor to reflect the negotiated position in the lease. A Schedule of Condition is a point to negotiate, not something to assume will be included.[6][7]

The landlord’s agent is not a substitute for your own surveyor: Sydney Mitchell identifies the agent as acting for the landlord, while Clarkslegal recommends independent surveying advice for the tenant.[6][7]

Name a lead contact and record who supplies evidence, who negotiates commercial terms and who handles legal wording. Then compare solicitors against the legal work you need.

Compare Nicholas & Co and Sydney Mitchell

Nicholas & Co’s published emphasis is renewal rights and disputes; Sydney Mitchell expressly offers heads-of-terms or draft-lease review. These are starting points for enquiries, not evidence either firm is better or their capabilities do not overlap.[5][6]

Nicholas & Co

• Renewal-related advice: The firm describes advice on commercial lease renewals, rent reviews and landlord disputes, including protected and contracted-out leases.[5]
• Document-review scope: Its cited renewal page does not state an equivalent heads-of-terms or draft-lease review offer; ask whether that work can be included rather than treating the omission as an exclusion.[5]
• Relevance to your brief: Its published emphasis supports an enquiry about establishing tenancy status, handling notices and advising on landlord opposition.[5]

Sydney Mitchell

• Commercial lease advice: The firm offers guidance through the process and discusses lease length, security of tenure, rent, service charges, guarantees, repair, assignment and break rights.[6]
• Document-review scope: It expressly offers to review proposed heads of terms or a draft lease.[6]
• Relevance to your brief: Its published emphasis supports an enquiry about reviewing proposed documents and explaining their commitments.[6]

These descriptions are not independent performance evidence or complete engagement scopes.[5][6] Confirm the actual commission before instructing.

Establish protection and notice risks first

Ask the solicitor to establish whether you have renewal protection before negotiating on the assumption you can stay. Qualifying business tenants have statutory renewal protection under Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 unless the parties formally contracted out before the lease was granted.[2]

Expiry does not mean the same thing for every tenancy. Feldon Dunsmore explains that a protected tenancy can continue on the same terms after contractual expiry where no notice has been served.[8] Ask the solicitor to establish what expiry means for your tenancy, particularly if it was contracted out.

Send the signed lease, contracting-out papers, variations, and notices or relevant correspondence. Request a written explanation of your status, relevant dates and immediate action, including case-specific application deadlines, notice forms and service requirements.

Feldon Dunsmore discusses landlords’ section 25 notices and tenants’ section 26 renewal requests; ask the solicitor which notice route applies and what any notice received requires you to do.[8] Protection is not an unconditional guarantee: GOV.UK identifies unpaid rent and landlord occupation as possible reasons for refusal.[1]

Build a shared brief before agreeing heads of terms

For each proposed term, record the proposed position, evidence needed, responsible adviser and unresolved question. RICS’s Code for leasing business premises, reissued without material change in September 2023, provides heads-of-terms and checklist structures for new lettings and renewals; it supports informed negotiation rather than prescribing the outcome.[4]

• Status and notices. Ask the solicitor to record their conclusion on renewal protection, identify contracting-out documents and summarise the expiry and notice position. State your preferred outcome: a further term, different terms or an exit.[2][8]
• Rent and recurring costs. Ask the surveyor to test the proposed rent against similar local premises. Record rent, rent-review wording, any rent-free period and any service-charge cap; allocate market evidence to the surveyor and wording to the solicitor.[6][7]
• Condition and repair. A full repairing obligation may require you to put premises into repair even if their initial condition was poor. Ask the surveyor to assess that exposure and whether a Schedule of Condition is appropriate. Ask the solicitor to negotiate and document the intended limitation before grant: do not assume recording condition alone limits liability.[6][7]
• Term, security and exit. Record lease length, personal guarantees or rent deposits, assignment and subletting permissions, and any tenant break. Ask the solicitor to explain the break’s conditions, particularly payment and giving up occupation, rather than treating the break date as an automatically usable exit.[6][7]

Before agreeing heads of terms, ask both advisers to check the proposal, supporting evidence and intended lease wording align, with unresolved points marked for negotiation.[4][7]

What to confirm with each provider

Nicholas & Co’s contact page offers local meetings for Finchley clients who need an in-person meeting and cannot travel[9]. The excerpts do not publish Sydney Mitchell’s geographical service coverage or either firm’s comparable prices, packages, current availability, engagement durations, or cancellation and refund terms.[5][6] Send each prospective adviser the same documents and request written confirmation of:

• Scope and deliverables: protection and notices, heads-of-terms review, negotiation, lease drafting and coordination with your surveyor. Identify included, excluded and separately chargeable tasks.
• Total cost: charging basis, estimated total including VAT and disbursements, assumptions, spending limits, and how additional work will be authorised and charged.
• Delivery and engagement: who will handle the work, availability against the solicitor-identified timetable, coverage of the premises’ location, and engagement, termination, cancellation and refund provisions.

Request a separate surveying scope for market-rent evidence, condition work and negotiation support: these deliverables differ from legal advice and drafting, so the quotes are not interchangeable.[6][7][8] Ask who will coordinate the work and resolve gaps between scopes.

Choose on confirmed scope and total cost, rather than the headline quote alone.

References

1. Renewing your commercial property lease – GOV.UK (gov.uk)
2. Business tenancies: the right to renew – Law Commission (lawcom.gov.uk)
4. Code for leasing business premises, 1st edition (rics.org, 2020)
5. Business Tenants – What You Need to Know About Commercial Lease Renewal Changes | Nicholas & Co (nicholassolicitors.com, 2025)
6. Top tips for commercial property tenants – Sydney Mitchell Solicitors (sydneymitchell.co.uk)
7. A commercial lease in England: a few essential points to consider – Clarkslegal LLP (clarkslegal.com)
8. Landlords: What You Need to Know Approaching Commercial Lease End (feldondunsmore.co.uk, 2025)
9. Contact Nicholas & Co Solicitors | London W1W 7BR | Nicholas & Co (nicholassolicitors.com)