Data, property, finance and security instruments · 02
Commercial lease
Gives a business the right to occupy premises, on terms that are rarely as standard as they look.
Gives a business the right to occupy premises, on terms that are rarely as standard as they look.
The parties, the premises described precisely and the permitted use; term, renewal and escalation; deposit; who carries rates, utilities, insurance and maintenance; alterations and reinstatement; assignment and subletting; breach, remedy periods and cancellation; and the landlord’s tacit hypothec position.
A lease of land for more than ten years that is not registered against the title deed binds a successor in title for ten years only. Where the tenant is a natural person or a juristic person below the Consumer Protection Act threshold, the CPA applies and limits cancellation penalties and notice — a clause forfeiting the full remaining rental will not survive. And “reinstatement to original condition” without an agreed schedule of condition at the start is an argument waiting at the end of the term.
The law it sits under
What governs this instrument.
A lease of immovable property need not be in writing to be valid between the parties, but registration and the common-law huur gaat voor koop rule determine what happens on a sale of the property. Where the lessee is a consumer within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, section 14 governs fixed-term duration, renewal and early cancellation, and cannot be contracted out of.
Related pages, tools and documents
Where this instrument sits in the wider set, and the engagement that produces it.
Start here
Tell us the decision your organisation needs to make.
The first conversation is thirty minutes, confidential and free. You will leave it knowing which of our services you need and which you do not.