lease of shop

[julaz99]

hi
i have an opportunity to open a shop,it was a charity shop and the lady who ran the charity has died.The owner of the shop said i can rent the shop as soon as it closes,at the moment my friend is a volunteer winding down the shop,but the ladies sister claims she wants to close it now until the end of the financial year in march,when i can occupy it.
while at the moment it is a charity shop,i want to open it as a second hand shop,not a charity but as a small business.Does anyone know if someone dies,whether the lease is ended or not.
thankyou

[lady_p_gold]

You would have to enter into a new lease with whoever is the landlord, but do beware of this as you may end up not wanting it anymore and then possibly finding that if the next person defaults it could land back on you, my knowledge is a little sketchy on this and perhaps someone else can help, all I am saying is be very careful before getting into a lease on a shop.

[themas]

I doubt whether the lease ends automatically due to the death. If the lease was with the deceased in her name as an individual then it is probably now part of her estate. If it was with the charity in the name of the charit then it definitely will not have ended because of the death.

I agree with Lady-p. If you enter into a new lease and then no longer want the shop you remain liable for the rent even if you leave the shop empty. If you then assign your lease to someone else that person becomes responsible for the rent but if they default the landlord can come back to you to pay it. Probably best to try and get a short lease - in most cases you have a right to have the lease renewed if you wish to.

[julaz99]

thankyou both very much,
it appears there was only a verbal agreement with the previous tenant for 15 years and i am to have the same,everything is being sorted out now and i feel much better.
thanks again:)

[themas]

I'm not sure of the law on this, but I think that a verbal agreement and the payment of rent under it could in effect create a tenancy or lease. However, the verbal arrangement could work in your favour if you wanted to get out. But it might also work against you if the owner decided that they wanted you out and you were unwilling to go.