6 minute read
Legal
Can a periodic business tenant in occupation of premises obtain Uber Drivers are a lease from their landlord?self-employed but what You are a commercial tenant running a business from premises and you now want your landlord to grant youdoes it mean and what You may have been paying rent monthly or quarterly for some lease, perhaps in order to or sell your business, you a written lease for a fixed term.is the impact? grow will not resolve the dispute which could be unsatisfactory to both parties and a new lease, the tenant will be able to obtain a new lease on Inbar Rabinovitz Employment Solicitor years, but your landlord has still be able to serve on the landlord the uncertaintly of a court case terms to be agreed or if not not given you a fixed term lease. What can you do to force the a notice under section 26 of the 1954 Act requesting a new lease. could be avoided by upon lease terms.One of the most publicised Supreme to even logging drivers off the app for agreeing agreed as determined by the court. Accordingly the landlord employed model to that which Uber used. landlord’s hand? Rights under a periodic tenancy It is likely that you are a periodic tenant and if you have been in occupation of business premises paying rent for more than 12 months, you will have become a protected business tenant with the rights granted by the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 Part 11. As such the landlord cannot simply terminate your lease by giving you one month’s notice. It would need to serve you with a statutory notice under the 1954 Act giving you not less than 6 nor more than 12 months’ notice and you will then have the right to apply to the court for a new lease on terms to be agreed or decided upon by the court. Can you require the landlord to grant a new lease? If the time has come that you need the certainty of a fixed term The right to do this only applies to tenants whose tenancy was granted for a fixed term certain exceeding one year or for any term and thereafter from year to year. So what should the tenant do? Negotiate with your landlord A periodic protected tenant should be in a strong position to negotiate a new lease with the landlord who would be keen to regularise the position. Without a lease, the landlord cannot unilaterally increase the rent, or regulate the use of the premises or prevent the tenant from sharing occupation or assigning its tenancy. It is unlikely that the landlord could easily sell its interest in the property while a protected periodic tenant contiuues in occupation for an indefinite period. With oral tenancy agreements if a dispute arises the court would need to hear evidence and try to One way in which the landlord can regularise the position is to serve a written notice under section 25 of the 1954 Act terminating the tenancy and stating whether or not the landlord is willing to grant a new lease and if so on what terms including rent and length of lease. If the landlord opposes the grant of a new lease, then it may only refuse on certain grounds set out in the statute, most commonly refusal on the grounds of persistent rent arrears, being able to demonstrate an intention to occupy the premises for its own use or an intention to redevelop. The landlord must demonstrate the ability to do these things if necessary by producing plans and specifications and the necessary planning permissions. This can make it difficult for a landlord to regain possession. If the tenant is a protected business tenant and the landlord does not have grounds to oppose cannot simply impose any terms it wishes and the court will look at the implied terms of the periodic tenancy when considering what terms should be inserted in the new lease. The landlord is therefore likely to be agreeable to grant a lease to a periodic tenant especially since it cannot increase the rent without first terminating the lease under the Act, and the position will remain uncertain. Taking legal advice It is best to seek legal advice first before finalising terms in principle with your landlord to ensure that the terms of the new lease are not onerous and reflect the terms of your existing oral tenancy. Where there is a dispute with the landlord and the landlord is taking steps to terminate the tenancy without offering acceptable new lease terms, it will be important to seek legal advice as to your rights and how to protect your position. Court decisions at the moment is the case that was brought against Uber to determine whether Uber drivers are considered workers or actually self-employed as the company believes. After a long legal battle on this, the Supreme Court determined that Uber drivers are considered workers which means that Uber drivers are entitled to similar benefits to employees, even if not all. This includes Statutory sick pay, paid annual leave and national minimum wage. A main consideration that the Supreme Court looked at, and which is important in employment law, is who has the control in the employer / employee relationship. In this instance, the Supreme Court concluded that Uber had significant control over the drivers’ work – from setting the fares charged to customers a specific period of time if they did not hit a certain number of fares in a set timeframe. There is even an element of control by Uber with regards to the communication that the drivers and passengers have as to prevent the drivers from forming a working relationship with the passengers beyond that ride. In light of this landmark decision, many businesses will inevitably realise that they need to consider their own workforce’s employment status and whether any changes need to be implemented – because an employer that believes that its workforce are self-employed, for example, would not have budget for holiday pay and sick pay which are crucial entitlements of workers and employees. The decision has now been made and we now need to consider the implications on business that may utilise a similar selfThese businesses should consider whether they truly intend for their employees to be self-employed under Employment legislation and not just for tax purposes. If the answer is a resounding yes, so they will need to look at their current processes and see whether any changes need to be implemented in order to ensure that the independent contractors are indeed given the freedom that is intended for those self-employed individuals. There is no doubt that this is a much more complex area and many businesses are likely to be concerned by this decision, especially with over 5 million people in the UK working within the gig-economy. Therefore, our expert team are on hand to help support businesses and individuals through any transition period whilst they ensure that the parties are both content with and understand the relationship. If you need expert legal advice, please contact Alan Zeffertt by email on azOur expert employment solicitors will be pleased to advise. e@anthonygold.co.uk or ask for him or a member of our Commercial Property Team, telephone 020 7940 4000.Please contact Inbar Rabinovitz if you would like assistance: inbar.rabinovitz@anthonygold.co.uk
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