Protect Your Business Sale: Avoid Lease Transfer Pitfalls
I recently heard a story that highlights the importance of understanding lease transfer regulations. A potential business sale was jeopardized because the landlord objected to the age of the proposed lease transferee. Don't let a bad landlord spoil your deal!
In our latest video, I share two crucial tips to prevent such issues and ensure a smooth lease transfer process.
Whether you're buying, selling, or facing any transaction involving lease transfer, our team at Millens is here to help. With our expertise, we'll navigate the complexities of lease transfers, ensuring you receive a proper transfer and full release if you're the vendor.
Don't risk your business deal – reach out to Millens today for expert advice on lease transfers
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Ross Millen:
Hi. I was talking to someone the other day and they said maybe two years ago they tried to sell their business and they had a rental property, but the landlord had held up the sale of their business because the landlord had said the proposed transferee of the lease was too old. Now, I thought that was fairly ridiculous, but it got me thinking that people when they're buying and selling businesses or some other reason, transferring a lease, obviously don't know what the rules are.
Now, you must look at the terms of the lease, but also if you're a retail lease, there's provisions in the Act that deal with transfers of leases and the landlord not being able to unreasonably withhold consent to a transfer of lease. So, don't expect the landlord therefore to unreasonably or use some invalid reasons, such as the age of the proposed transferee, to stop the transfer of lease and stop the sale of your business.
Now, the other thing that's interesting in a retail lease is that if you're the vendor or transferring the lease, you can give a disclosure statement and you cancel out your future liability completely. Now, some people don't do this and they leave their tenant, they leave their client who's selling the business, still on the hook if the new owner defaults under the lease.
So, if you're buying a business, if you're selling a business, you've got some other transaction where you're transferring a lease, come and talk to me. Come and talk to someone else at Millens because we know all the rules. We'll make sure that you get a proper transfer of lease and if you're the vendor, that you get fully released in the future. So, contact me, Ross Millen at Millens. We're here to help.
