Commercial rates are an assessment related to the amount of private rent for a building, as well as other elements surrounding a property. Fees are paid for the right of occupancy, therefore, by being able to vacate the commercial premises by canceling the lease, through an early release clause, you will save money on this fee, as well as on the charges for rent.

To cancel a lease and exercise an exit clause, a procedure must be written in the lease with the relevant details available. The landlord’s address, telephone number, mobile and landline, and most importantly their email address should be used as these are very useful records of correspondence.

It is imperative that the business owner considering leasing spend time and due diligence in researching potential owners. Previous tenants of the property should be contacted and their opinion considered, along with their experience with the landlord. Also, how available and helpful was the owner? Online searches are also important to build a picture of what may have happened in the future.

It is useless to have a termination clause if the lessor cannot be located or contacted to exercise this clause before said date. It is also up to the tenant to notify the council before and after the property has been vacated through the lease, to transfer responsibility for business fees to the property owner.

Sometimes the tenant may find it difficult to inform the landlord of their intentions to terminate the lease through relevant clauses, which may cause undue stress to the tenant and affect the landlord’s future rental plans.

It has been the case that there has been confusion and the renter may discover that they are responsible for the bills of fees that they thought were no longer their responsibility. Therefore, it is important that the tenant thoroughly review the lease and, if he is not completely sure of the clauses, hire a qualified person to inspect the lease before signing; this expense may be worth it.

There are often many properties available for commercial rental and it can pay to be selective and spend time researching the type, location and reputation of the owner before committing to any lease. The same can also be applied to the local council and its approach to help remove the responsibility for business fees back to the owner.

It may be helpful to contact the council by email to get a record of correspondence that may be necessary or helpful in the future in case there is any confusion.

Once the property is vacated and the lease is terminated through a release clause, the landlord becomes responsible for the vacated commercial fees. There is a tax relief – (vacancy rate relief – for a certain period of time before the landlord is required to pay this charge).

This means that there is an incentive for the landlord to re-rent the property within or at the end of this time period. Once rented again for a minimum period of time, the landlord will again qualify for fee relief, if the lease is terminated through a clause or was simply short-term.

The owner can avoid vacant property fees if the premises are leased to a charity or entity (for example, an educational center) that is deemed advantageous to the local community.

The council may allow such a facility to operate without fees, as they would not be for profit. This is good for the owner, the council and the local community as the shop is kept operational by profits from the charity and high street traffic is kept up.