Slow solicitors and commercial lease
Posted: May 17th, 2023, 10:21 am
Hi
I’m having difficulties getting a commercial lease renewal completed, it is for a retail shop. I think the tenant’s solicitor is dragging their heels, but equally my solicitor appears inept in getting anything progressed. In short:
July 2019 3 year lease granted to new tenant, my mother being the landlord.
Jan 2022 Tenant contacts me to express wish to renew for a 5 year term.
Jan 2022 I contact our usual solicitor on behalf of my mother for the process to be started.
Apr 2022 Sadly my mother passes away, solicitor informed and same solicitors engaged to submit probate etc.
Dec 2022 Probate sorted.
Jan 2023 Another solicitor instructed to transfer property into my and my sister’s names. We took the decision that our usual solicitor will stop being so from now on!
From February 2022 to present I have chased constantly by email to get the lease pushed through, I have contacted the tenant directly on a few occasions and they say they are chasing their solicitor and still want the renewal. We did almost get a lease agreed in February this year but at the last moment the tenant’s solicitor wanted something changing and we went back to the usual inactivity.
I realise there’s not much I can do in respect of the tenant’s solicitor but mine seems to be doing nothing to progress. I sent them another chaser email over a week ago and they haven’t even replied to me. It often takes a chase of a chase email to elicit a response.
What I want to do is to just take it out of their hands and instruct another firm to do it, but obviously I don’t want to incur double costs. Given the amount of time it’s taken do I have any firm ground on which to stand and refuse to pay the original solicitors as they haven’t performed the task in a reasonable time?
I’m out of ideas, any other suggestions welcome!
I’m having difficulties getting a commercial lease renewal completed, it is for a retail shop. I think the tenant’s solicitor is dragging their heels, but equally my solicitor appears inept in getting anything progressed. In short:
July 2019 3 year lease granted to new tenant, my mother being the landlord.
Jan 2022 Tenant contacts me to express wish to renew for a 5 year term.
Jan 2022 I contact our usual solicitor on behalf of my mother for the process to be started.
Apr 2022 Sadly my mother passes away, solicitor informed and same solicitors engaged to submit probate etc.
Dec 2022 Probate sorted.
Jan 2023 Another solicitor instructed to transfer property into my and my sister’s names. We took the decision that our usual solicitor will stop being so from now on!
From February 2022 to present I have chased constantly by email to get the lease pushed through, I have contacted the tenant directly on a few occasions and they say they are chasing their solicitor and still want the renewal. We did almost get a lease agreed in February this year but at the last moment the tenant’s solicitor wanted something changing and we went back to the usual inactivity.
I realise there’s not much I can do in respect of the tenant’s solicitor but mine seems to be doing nothing to progress. I sent them another chaser email over a week ago and they haven’t even replied to me. It often takes a chase of a chase email to elicit a response.
What I want to do is to just take it out of their hands and instruct another firm to do it, but obviously I don’t want to incur double costs. Given the amount of time it’s taken do I have any firm ground on which to stand and refuse to pay the original solicitors as they haven’t performed the task in a reasonable time?
I’m out of ideas, any other suggestions welcome!