Consultation On New Code For Leasing Business Premises

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has opened a consultation its proposed Professional Statement—Code for Leasing Business Premises (the Code).

The consultation proposes that the existing code, dating back to the 1990s, is replaced with a professional statement containing mandatory requirements. The mandatory requirements of the Code have been significantly changed since RICS’s initial consultation in 2018. The deadline for responses is 11:59pm on 5 May 2019.

RICS aims to make initial negotiations on lease terms fairer and promote the issue of comprehensive heads of terms through the new code.

The new mandatory requirements are:

• lease negotiations must be constructive and collaborative
• parties must be advised on the existence of the code and to seek professional advice if they are not represented by an RICS member or property professional
• lease term agreements on vacant possession lettings should be in written heads of terms—it must be stated that these are ‘subject to contract’ and the position on aspects of the code should be, at a minimum, summarised
• heads of terms must comply with the list for the renewal of extension of a lease
• before a draft lease is released, responsibility lies with landlords or letting agents for ensuring heads of terms are compliant with the Code

Responses to the consultation can be submitted online

Source

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