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Commercial Lease on a Shop

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C

Clint Holland

Guest
Although I am in Australia - I am hoping someone can give me a "draft" of a suitable reply to the Agents for the shop we rented and over which our business recently folded.

Last Sept. we rented a shop via the owners agents, signed an intention to lease it for 5 years and then when the lease arrived, we had to send it back as it was showing the wrong names of my partners. After a long time it came back again , and I had to send it overseas to get my two partners to sign it, by the time it came back, the business had folded. One of the provisions of the lease was that we give a 5 months rent guarantee by way of a Bank Guarantee. This was never given as the delays with the lease signing caused the agents to not push for that, as they wnated the lease signed and this took preference at that time.

Anyhow...we contacted the agents and told them we had to fold and they replied (by email) that they were very sorry to hear this news and as we needed (they said) to give one months notice, we can leave by the 19th of this month. We in fact vacated last weekend.

Today the agents sends us a formal letter saying notwithstanding anything else, they advise that we are still bound by the terms of the lease, in view we signed the intent to lease...and as such we will be continued to be held responsible for rents etc, until such time as they can fund a new tenant.

In reality I see that the lease states this...but at the same time, they did tell us to vacate by the 19th...and as they now said we are to be held responsible for ongoing rent, one wonders what prompted them to give us to the 19th to leave....as whether we leave or not, according to their latest advice, we must continue to pay rent anyhow. Normally of course they would also have our Bank Guarantee for 5 months rent, but in this case, no lease signed, no Bank Guarantee, only a letter of intent signed and we occupied the shop for about 4 months.

As the Company has no money anyhow, not much the Agents can do - but to put a lid on this I would like to send them a response, polite but firm that would send out the signal that they may have messed up on this one - and that our departure with their consent is considered by us their agreement to terminate as from the date they stated i.e. the 19th. In addition, we have no lease with them, not formally anywhere.

Can anyone assist with a real good draft of how to respond.

Many thanks, Clint Holland

<[email protected]>
 



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