Rent and payments

Use this page to find out about rent and payments for commercial tenants in the Bath and North East Somerset area.

Paying rent 

Your lease will specify the amount of rent you need to pay and when payment is due. Most leases specify that interest will be charged on late payments.

WarningNon payment of rent is a serious breach of the tenant's covenants and there are various remedies available to a landlord which will be pursued.

Generally the lease will require the rent to be paid ‘quarterly, in advance’. The quarter days are:

• 25 March (Lady Day)  
• 24 June (Midsummer)  
• 29 September (Michaelmas)  
• 25 December (Christmas Day) 

Your rent can be paid by standing order, direct debit, by cheque or online.

Please contact the valuer for your property to set up payments by these methods. All invoices sent to you will detail payment methods on the back. 

Rent reviews

Your lease will explain how and when the rent will be reviewed. We aim to serve the rent review notice indicating the proposed rent on review before the relevant date. As a tenant, you can start the rent review process yourself and you should contact the valuer for your property.

Negotiations can be done directly with you or through your advisor. If you represent yourself, we will explain how they calculated the new rent. Usually, the new rent is based on the ‘open market rental value,’ which means what the property is worth on the open market, using local comparisons.

If negotiations fail to result in an agreement, the lease usually allows an independent third party to decide, following the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) procedures. You can get a guide to the RICS Dispute Resolution Service from the RICS or your valuer. This process lets each party present their evidence.

If you have financial or other difficulties

Should you find yourself facing financial or other difficulties in connection with the building you occupy, it is in the best interest of everyone involved that you discuss the matter as soon as possible with the valuer for your property.

We will do everything we can to help resolve the issue, but we can only help if we are aware of the problem. Any matter that is discussed will be treated in confidence.

Lease renewals

The procedure and time scale for lease renewals are governed by the relevant ‘landlord and tenant legislation’, found in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, together with recent amendments. The majority of our commercial properties are occupied under business tenancies, which continue until terminated by either landlord or tenant.

You are advised to take legal advice if you receive any such notice of termination. Details are given on the back of the termination. We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of taking legal advice so that you protect your rights to a new tenancy. The future security of your business premises depends upon your response to the notice.

Assignments and sub-lettings

Not all leases allow you to sub-let or assign them, but if yours does, you need to send an application to us. You’ll need to provide references and detailed financial and trading information for the new tenant. This helps us check if they are suitable, and we might interview them.

Applications to sub-let or assign are governed by law, and we must respond within a reasonable time.

If you assign your lease, you might still be responsible for rent and repairs if the new tenant fails to pay or maintain the property.

When you take over a lease, you are responsible for following all its terms and fixing any breaches, even if they happened before you moved in. For example, if the previous tenant didn’t pay rent or make repairs, you will have to cover those costs. If we had made repairs before you moved in but haven't requested payment for them yet, you will be responsible for paying your share.