Office Building Lease Agreement

This lease template, in a “Download Now” Word format, is a commercial lease agreement between landlord and tenant for the letting out of a whole office building.

This Office Building Lease Agreement can be used when the term of the commercial lease is seven years or longer. In England any commercial lease which has been granted for a period of seven years or more must be registered with the Land Registry and this lease agreement is in a form suitable for registration at the Land Registry.

The Office Building Lease Agreement is a comprehensive 30-page document, which includes 18 easy-to-follow sections.

Clauses in the Office Building Lease Agreement

• The rights of the landlord and tenant
• Rent, interest and rent review
• Repair and decoration of the office building
• Alterations of the commercial premises
• The tenant's legal obligations
• The tenant's use of the commercial premises

For further details of the terms included in this Office Building Lease Agreement, see the ‘Contents’ tab above.

Drafted by solicitors for straightforward completion, this “Download Now” Office Building Lease Agreement includes guidance on how to fill the template in.

Office Building Lease Agreement is one of a range of lease agreement templates we provide. The others are:

• Short Term Lease Agreement
• Long Term Lease Agreement
• Shop Lease Agreement
• Restaurant Lease Agreement
• Cafe Lease Agreement
• Workshop Lease Agreement

Office Building Lease Template Note:

Office Building Lease Agreement is supplied by ContractStore.com.

Contents of Office Building Lease Agreement

This Office Building Lease Agreement is intended for the letting of a whole building for commercial office purposes. This lease agreement template is for a term of seven years or longer, and must be registered at the Land Registry. This template includes the clauses needed when a commercial lease (of more than seven years) has to be registered at HM Land Registry.

Landlord and tenant law is a complex area of law and specialist legal advice is always recommended before entering into a commercial lease, whether you're a landlord or a tenant.

Specific clauses

1. Land registry clauses

Land Registry clauses are a set of standard details, which must appear at the beginning of any lease agreement, which is for a period of seven years or more. The prescribed clauses contain the information which the Land Registry needs in order to complete registration. 

2. Principal terms

This section sets out the principal terms of the commercial lease as to include:

• Grant of commercial lease: sets out the basic lease agreement; namely that the landlord will grant the lease under the terms set out in this template
• Use of the terms 'landlord', 'tenant' and 'guarantor' in the lease agreement
• Details of the premises
• The rent: expressed as an annual sum and the date the rent starts from
• Rent review dates; for example, if there is a 15-year commercial lease, it might be subject to five yearly rent reviews
• The length of the lease agreement ('term')
• Permitted use: stated as use for offices within Class B1 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987
• Break clauses: this is optional depending on whether it has been agreed that the landlord and/or the tenant will have the right to bring the commercial lease to an end early

3. Interpreting the commercial lease

This section sets out provisions relating to, for instance:

• The meaning of certain words used
• Reference to adjoining property
• A jurisdiction clause: stating that English law will apply to this lease agreement template
• A description of the use of the word 'conduit' in the lease
• Obtaining any relevant consents from the landlord (e.g. to proposed alterations or to assignments/sublettings)
• The exclusion of the operation of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, which might give certain third parties the benefit of provisions in the lease agreement
• That the commercial lease is a new tenancy for the purposes of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995. This means that it's a tenancy granted on or after 1 January 1996 (other than following an agreement entered before that date or an order of a court made before that date)
• The procedure for notices which have to be served in accordance with the terms of the lease

4. Rights

This section describes the rights granted to the tenant and the rights reserved to the landlord, together with other rights to which the commercial lease is subject. In the lease agreement reference is made to the rights and reservations in the transfer under which the landlord holds the freehold of the premises. This clause expressly excludes any rights over any adjoining property (other than any rights which may be specifically granted in the lease). 

This clause also excludes the provisions of section 62 of the Law of Property Act 1925 in the absence of which the lease would confer on the tenant all easements, rights and advantages enjoyed by the premises at the date of the commercial lease.

5. Rent, interest and other payments

This section lists payments the tenant must make, including rent and all outgoings in respect of the premises (including VAT).

6. Rent review

This section deals with the procedure for agreeing a new rent and the possible appointment of an expert, if there is disagreement.

7. Repair and decoration

This section sets out the tenant's obligations to keep the premises to a high standard of condition including the structural parts of the premises (except repair or damage covered by an insured risk). The lease agreement template also sets out such matters as the obligation of the tenant to replace landlord's fixtures and fittings which are beyond repair and to replace damaged or broken windows. The commercial lease sets out the tenant's decorating obligations: to decorate the exterior in every third year of the term and the interior in every fifth year of the term.

8. Alterations

This section sets out that the tenant must not make any structural internal or external alterations or additions to the premises. The Office Building Lease Agreement requires the tenant to obtain the landlord's consent in respect of all other alterations. The lease template also sets out the procedure for obtaining the landlord's consent to those alterations. A ProForma in respect of the application for consent is attached to this Office Building Lease Agreement.

9. Using the premises

This section sets out the right of the tenant to quiet enjoyment of the premises as long as the tenant is paying the rent and complying with its other obligations under the commercial lease. This clause sets out that the premises may only be used for the use for which they are let and lists restrictions on the tenant's use of the premises.

10. Signage

This section deals with the signs which the tenant may and may not affix to the premises.

11. Legal obligations

This section sets out the tenant's obligations to comply with all lawful requirements in respect of the premises and to comply with all relevant codes of practice in relation to the way the premises are used.

12: Planning

This section relates to the tenant's obligation to comply with all planning obligations in relation to the premises and the procedure for making a planning application and implementing it.

13. Protecting the landlord's interest

This section obliges the tenant to give notice to the landlord of any defect in the premises or matter in which the landlord may have a duty of care under the commercial lease. The lease prohibits the tenant from obstructing any window or right to light which the premises has and requires the tenant not to permit any person to acquire rights over the premises. The Office Building Lease Agreement sets out the terms of the indemnity which the tenant must provide to the landlord in respect of the use, or condition, for example, of the premises. Clauses of the lease template deal with liability, costs and the exclusion of the right for the tenant to claim compensation from the landlord on vacating the premises.

14. Letting others use the premises

This section deals with general restrictions to which the lease is subject. This clause allows members of the same group as the tenant to share occupation of the premises. The lease sets out the restrictions on the tenant mortgaging or charging the commercial lease. The Office Building Lease Agreement deals with notice provisions on a mortgage, or assignment, for example, of the commercial lease and the fee to be paid to the landlord in that respect. The commercial lease sets out that an assignment, charge or other disposition is to be effective on completion of the relevant transaction and not when it has been registered at the Land Registry.

15. Assignment and subletting

This section prohibits assignment and subletting of part of the premises and sets out the conditions the landlord may impose to an assignment or subletting of the whole of the premises.

16. Insurance and fire precautions

This section defines what the insured risks cover. The commercial lease sets out the landlord's obligations in relation to insurance of the premises. The lease template sets out what costs are included in the insurance charge and lists what the tenant's insurance obligations are. This clause sets out what happens in the event of the premises not being fit for use because of loss or damage caused by an insured risk.

17. The end of the commercial lease

The Office Building Lease Agreement sets out (1) the right of the landlord to affix notices for reletting the premises during the six-month period before the end of the commercial lease and (2) the tenant's obligation at the end of the lease to remove all the tenant's fixtures and fittings and to hand back the premises to the landlord with all keys and landlord's fixtures and fittings in accordance with the tenant's obligations under the commercial lease. This clause sets out the landlord's rights in relation to forfeiture of the lease.

18. Guarantee

This section applies where there is a guarantor either as a party to the commercial lease or following an assignment.  The Office Building Lease Agreement sets out the obligations and liability of the guarantor during both the currency of the commercial lease and in the event of a disclaimer.