Re-launched Lease Code - what's good, what's bad and what's just unfortunate [2021]

Watch the 2021 trailer here:

What is covered in this session?

Now that the Code for Leasing Business Premises has been relaunched as an RICS Professional Statement, it may be expected that closer attention will be paid to what it says. However, while the Code may now have teeth, it remains to be seen whether it will have sufficient bite to get through to the SMEs, who forego professional advice. Who will ensure the unrepresented party is made aware?

The Code’s launch coincided with the Covid-19 crisis and the recasting of the Use Classes Order, and its recommendations must be assessed in the light of the changed circumstances which these developments have brought about.

With ever shorter lease terms, and many tenants without professional help, a critical look at the role and the content of the Code is overdue.

Learning objectives:

• Why would an intending occupier care about the Code?
• How does the RICS’ own standard lease fit in with the Code?
• Does the Code reflect tenants’ need for ever greater flexibility?
• What opportunities have been missed?
• Might standard lease forms be a better approach?