11/02/2026
All businesses need somewhere to operate from, whether that is a room in your home, a serviced office, an industrial unit or a retail shop.
Whilst some people might purchase the premises most businesses initially look to rent their business premises.
Finding the right property can take some time, but once you’ve done that and agreed terms with the landlord, the lease itself will still need to be negotiated and agreed.
Clients are often surprised at how long this process can take as they may have already spent many months finding suitable premises and agreeing the terms either with the help of an agent or direct. There is also often a misconception that once heads of terms are agreed the legal documentation will be relatively straightforward.
However heads of terms are not legally binding and are usually no more than two or three pages long, whereas a standard lease can be anywhere between 30 to 80 pages and will set out in much more detail the specifics of the terms that have been agreed. As a general rule it usually takes 6 to 8 weeks from receipt of papers from the landlord’s solicitor to agree and complete a lease, where full due diligence is being undertaken although of course time periods can vary depending upon the complexities of the transaction, issues with the landlord’s title and the parties own time frames.
Read our article, where we explore the main documentation that will be entered into on a standard lease of commercial premises where the landlord owns the freehold and the due diligence process involved 👇
https://moorcrofts.com/what-to-expect-when-renting-commercial-premises-the-legal-process-explained/
A comprehensive guide to commercial lease transactions, from negotiation, due diligence through to completion.
