illegal repossesion ?

[Lone Ranger]

hi, we have a grocery shop leased for 21 years. we have been in the shop for 18 years. the shop is opened from monday to saturday. we came back on monday to open the shop and found out that the keys had been changed and there was a notice on the door saying that the shop has been reposessed by the baeliffs. we have perishable goods in the shop. we have insurance arrears of �4000 and rent arrears of �4000, totaling �8000. the rent is about �2400 every 3 months. there was no final letter to make payment or be reposessed sent to us. are we not supposed to receive a letter giving us at lease 28 days to quit or a court summons?. can you tell me what is our rights as lease holders/ tenents please.

[bednobs]

tbh, although i feel every sympathy for you, what did you expect with nearly 6 months of not paying the rent? Why did you not get in touch with the landlords yourself? Are you seriously saying that in 6 months they havent even spoken to you to ask where the rent is?

[redcrx]

"no final letter to make payment or be reposessed sent to us"

so you had been receiving letters about the debts then? had it been to court? what was outcome

[Richard1966]

business leases are a lot different to residential leases/tenancies. Business occupiers have much less protection. Still i agree with the above. if you dont pay the rent what did you expect to happen.

[Eve]

Have a look at your lease and check the forfeiture clause to see what is says. Also look into the possibilities of obtaining any relief from forfeiture.

You may find this useful although from a Landlord's perspective, it will give you an idea as to their rights and other potential actions...

http://www.cr-law.co.uk/services/commercial_pr operty/tenant.asp

[Lone Ranger]

thank you jenna1978, that was very helpful. the rent is about �2400 every 3 months, which means we were in arrears of a qauter and 2 months rent, insurance was just over �1000 a year, which meant we were 3 years in arrears, totaling �4000. being long serving leaseholders for 18 years with 3 more years to go, we should at lease have letter to pay or be repossesed. we did get letter of how much that was outstanding but that was about 2 months ago. should we not had a final warning letter from them or a court summons?

[north star]

For Bailiffs to be involved then this must have gone to a court somewhen and somewhere. You would have had notification of this. Speak to the Bailiff and see what s/he has to say.