[Debbieg]

I am hoping that you can help me here. I have ran my business successfully for 5 years now and have recently moved into new premises (April 2008). The negotiations at the time were with our initial landlord who I was later to learn would be selling the property to another company who he deals with. We paid a two month deposit at that time and were given an additional 4 months rent free as an 'incentive'. We were due to pay our first month's rent on 1st September and I noticed a discrepancy in the lease agreement which I realise I can do nothing about now as I did not have a lawyer look over this and it was signed by myself and my husband who is Company Secretary. I did however expect them to be competent in what they do. This has been to the cost of ourselves as the lease agreement is around £5,000 more per year than we first were told and the new landlord has said that we must pay this. Gosh our invoices each month have to be questioned as they are always wrong.

After spending 5 years in business I appreciate how a business in run and I feel that our now new landlords have breaches all over the place which I am not happy with and just want to walk away from if I can. We are a professional training organisation with a high calibre of clients and I am just not happy in our present surroundings, nor do my customers seem to be and they can spend 5 days at a time on a training course. Tenants have already left the building and some others have left in the middle of the night (moonlight) which I cannot blame them for. I could be tempted to do the same but I am too professional for that and I would not jeapordise my business which has got to this stage who effort and hard work and the building of a reputable and commendable database. I will list some of our issues as follows:

Customer complaints and loss of business due to some of my clients leaving our client list mainly because of issues with our premises such as:

Noise and lack of concentration to study (we offer professional accredited exams which can last 3 hours and requires complete quiet)
Lights flicking on and off in the corridor with people activating them while walking around which is disturbing and distracting for our customers' sitting exams
Lights (on timer) going out in toilets and clients caught unaware in the dark (have complained but no notice taken)
Smells in ladies toilets; not to mention lack of light – sewage smell
Lights out or missing bulbs in both toilets and public walking area; some have damaged fittings
No toilet paper very frequently and our clients are having to ask us at reception – very embarrassing for clients!
Fire doors left open and don't close automatically
Security gates at night left open occasionally
Lights missing in corridor: The timer in the hallway can sometimes not go on until you have taken 6 to 8 steps; again asked for this to be fixed but no avail. I have actually bumped into people in the corridor. The 'handy man' never brings ladders to change bulbs; again asked many times. He is also not a qualified electrician.
There is no access to light fitting in corridor directly outside our reception where you can step into darkness until light is triggered. This particular light fitting is restricted as there is a fire door now in place which covers the fitting and there is no access to change this.
Dim and dismal: causing an unhappy feeling with staff.
No lift for disabled access although states in contract that one of the services is 'Lift Maintenance'
We have laptops which we courier all over the country and are couriered in heavy cases which my staff are carrying up and down the stairs at their own will which I am not happy with. Couriers are not allowed to come upstairs for them in case of health injury to their backs. I am worried I could be sued by my own staff as there is no lift.
Clientelle in building are different types of people: We were asked 'before we signed up' for the lease who would be the calibre of people we would be bringing into the business centre which we stated would be business people. This answer was acceptable as this was the image they wanted to portray as a business centre
Since then: in the main foyer current tenants in the building wearing jeans and sweatshirts lounging over settees in foyer, eating hot food with bad smells. (now a No hot food sign) but it gives a bad impression to my clients and I am losing business.
On one customer's visit to ladies toilets and passing others offices, one tenant had his wife in his office and his children and his wife was changing nappies. Another complaint from customers.

Electrical Issue:
A couple of weeks ago our ex landlord who is now a tenant in the building asked me for a post-it note to put over a light switch downstairs in main foyer which was 'sparking'. My husband (who is an electrician) walked into the building around this time and my ex landlord asked him if he would look at it. My husband asked him to get approval of the current landlord which he did and my husband isolated the situation which he said was life threatening. He also put fluorescent tubes in the men's toilets as it was in pitch darkness. My husband did invoice them as instructed to do so.

I questioned our current landlord about who was responsible for the building electrics as the handyman had told me that he would not deal with electrical issues as he had no insurance cover to do so although they do allow him to change bulbs etc. This should also not be allowed in my view as some of the fittings (according to my husband) are damaged and could potentially be a danger to life. Our landlord informed me that they do have electricians who were not available at the time of the incident to rectify the problem and thus the reason they authorised my husband. My husband did send them an invoice through my company account of which he is a Company Secretary but they will not pay him until they have seen his insurance and a risk assessment of works carried out.

I find this hard to swallow and in total breach of contract as they basically took his word that he was an electrician (which he is but they had to proof of that) and now they won't pay him. If this was the case they should have evacuated the building in my view.

I have found many areas where I am not happy with both the security and health and safety within the building; not to mention lack of disabled access of which I have taken pictures of along with wires dangling, uneven floors, carpet dividers sticking up etc.

In a nutshell based on my comments above, would I be able to present these pictures and my findings to them, our current landlord, and get out of this contract which is due to run for another 5 years. They are offering me a room downstairs now but this will cost me more money to move as I have just redecorated and carpeted (which they want me to leave) and I really just don't want to be here any more. Far too many problems and I have totally cost faith.

Can someone please help?f I don't think if I do have a case that I will get my deposit back but I would like to. I also can't afford to lose any more business or I will indeed be out of business.

Many many thanks in advance

Debbie

[ScottGem]

You don't need to detail the problems to us. What you need to do is send a letter to the landlord documenting all the problems that have occurred and giving them a reasonable time to fix them. If they are not fixed within that time, then you can cite them for breach of contract and move.

I would consult with your solicitor about this though. Just to make sure you follow the legal requirements for your area. You see what happened the last time you didn't get their input.

[Debbieg]

Thanks a million for coming back to me on this.

We held a meeting around 3 months ago and asked them to deal with this and they still haven't done so. Can I now suggest what you have quoted?

[rockinmommy]

You can "suggest" whatever you want.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not at all familiar with landlord / tenant laws outside the US. HERE, you would need to have documented, written requests to them, and then there's a specific course of action allowed you by law. In some cases, in some states you would be allowed to break your lease.

I mean, you can move and just hope they don't pursue a lawsuit against you. If they DO come after you, you'd better have followed the steps, as required by law, otherwise they have a better case against you for breaking the lease. No one is going to give you permission to move out. You're going to have to take that action. Then if and when they attempt to enforce the lease and come after you, you'll have a defense. The more you have followed the steps laid out by the law, the stronger your case.

Does that make sense?

[ScottGem]

Was there a record of this this meeting? Was it fully documented? Was a time limit set to make the repairs?

If the answer is no to any of those, then you need to make sure that all of them are covered. And only after the specified time frame can you give notice that you consider the lease voided.

But again, I strongly urge you to run this by your solicitor.

[froggy7]

I might edit your list down a bit, myself. Didn't you go look at the place before you rented it? It seems that some of these issues would have been evident when you did. The lights and the kinds of customers the other tenants are attracting, in specific. Other than that, follow the advice that Scott and rockin' gave you.