Property Auditing | Recently acquired an existing lease? Have you checked for an unexpected gift? Learn more about historic money claims
Introduction
Did you know your recent lease acquisition might have come with an unexpected benefit?
People are mistaken when they believe that they cannot do anything about historic overpayments when they take over ownership of an existing business. Even if you have acquired an existing lease, or surrendered it and then taken out a new lease, it is worth being aware that legally there could be opportunities to benefit from any historic overpayments.
Historic money from an existing lease?
Whilst it is not always explicitly stated when a Tenant acquires an existing lease, including a situation whereupon it is immediately surrendered for a new lease, there is the possibility that there could be an opportunity to benefit from any overpayments that have been made in the past.
How could this occur?
Any update from the Landlord or their Managing Agent may not be forthcoming to the Tenant as quickly and efficiently as it should be.
Communication between departments in a large company may also be held up, so regular payment set ups are sometimes paid out of accounts before vital payment changes have been notified.
Landlords and Managing agents change, sometimes quite frequently – there may have been duplicate payments made and held in accounts.
So, what can you do about it?
It would be wise to review your lease thoroughly after the purchase ensuring you also consider the periods prior when it was owned by the previous tenant who assigned the lease. This is because when the legal assignment passes over, the rights to receive any overpaid monies from a prior tenant do as well.
Unless specifically stated otherwise in the assignment, if lease terms are properly observed, the previous tenant will have prepaid monies (rent due in advance in accordance with lease terms) as a matter of course prior to the transfer. This does not however mean that this is always done correctly so there can only be potential overpayments – it’s always worth a proper look.
Historic money from an existing lease?
There are timeframes attached, and it’s worth engaging someone who has done this before – the complexities of a comprehensive lease review can be vast. No time like the present to assess your estate and find the unexpected benefits of taking on a new lease.
How can we help you?
Visit our auditing services page to learn more about how we can help you.
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