When residential property is let on a short-term basis, the process to grant a lease is informal and often does not consist of anything except for the fact that the landlord has to take references and present the lease to the tenant for his signature on a take it or leave it basis. Thus, not much is discussed about short-term letting. Instead, we consider the formalities adopted in the grant of property for long-term lease as well the grant of commercial property on lease. Each of these is discussed in brief below:
a) The grant of a long residential lease: The conveyancing procedure to grant the lease of residential property for a long-term is similar to that of freehold sale and purchase. Hence we discuss only those, where the process differs from that used in a freehold transaction.
The lease is prepared by adhering to the terms set by the landlord, which is then annexed to the draft contract and then opened for further negotiations by both parties. The protocol applies here as well, just as it hold true for freehold transactions.
b) The grant of lease of a commercial property: The process of granting lease of a commercial property is the same as the grant of lease of residential property for the long term. However, it is unusual for a contract to be drawn up. Rather, the parties to the transaction agree to the terms of the lease and proceed directly to the grant. Unlike residential leases, the terms of lease are discussed and negotiated thoroughly between the landlord and tenant.
In the case of short-term commercial leases, the tenant may choose not to investigate the title. This is purely the decision of the client and not imposed by the landlord. For a better understanding of the process we assume that the client does not wish to skip any of the steps.
Photo courtesy: Jim Linwood
