Commercial Property Tenancy

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From: Iona .


I have a small commercial property. Two years ago I agreed to let a company have possession on the verbal understanding that a lease would be signed (my solicitor gave me this advice and this was obviously wrong advice).
The tenants paid me a security deposit and have paid the agreed to monthly rent regularily. A lease was prepared by my solicitor and for the past 2 years their solicitor has queried various conditions in the Lease (these are the usual printed conditions in the Law Institute Lease Form) and I have agreed to them all. However, the lease has not been signed by the tenants or by me.
I now wish to increase the rent and have been told by their solicitor (via my solicitor) they will only consider an increase if the original lease is signed. However, I have no faith whatsoever that this will ever happen as their solicitor will just perpetuate the negotiation process, I am sure. My solicitor has told me that this is typical behaviour of the other solicitor.
I instructed my solicitor today that I want to evict these tenants and he tells me that it can be argued that an enforceable lease is in place by virtue of the tenants having possession of the property for the past 2 years. I have not signed anything (nor even sighted the prepared lease documents for which I have already paid $600 to my solicitor for preparing).
I am at my wits ends and I would welcome help to enable me to think through this dilemma.
So, where does that leave me?
If someone has some thoughts about this I would be most grateful.... Iona.
 
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Reply: 1
From: Keith J


It sounds like your sol who advised you that the tenant could move in before signing a lease gave you bad advice. Get another sol or the Law Society to advise you on this urgently. Do you have his bad advice in writing ?
 
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Reply: 1.1
From: Iona 2


Keith, Thanks for replying. I do not have the advice of the solr in writing but my wife was present with me at the time. Do you happen to know who I would contact at the Law Soy? Regards, Iona.

On 5/11/01 1:15:00 PM, Keith J wrote:
>It sounds like your sol who
>advised you that the tenant
>could move in before signing a
>lease gave you bad advice. Get
>another sol or the Law Society
>to advise you on this
>urgently. Do you have his bad
>advice in writing ?
 
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Reply: 1.1.1.1
From: Tom Siviou




there is no need to contact the law society.. You have a lease agreement by virtue of accepting the payments. good news for you may be that its a month by month agreement. Give them 1 months notice and they have to be out. if not you can forcibly evict. The lease document drawn is nothing but a proposal not agreed to by virtue of not being executed.

cheers.
 
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