Commercial Property Litigation

Commercial property disputes pertain to legal conflicts associated with commercial real estate. These legal disputes frequently involve various parties, including landlords, tenants, commercial property owners, developers, investors, and other stakeholders in commercial real estate transactions.

The primary causes of commercial property disputes are varied and can encompass conflicts over contracts, lease agreements, walls and boundaries, unpaid rent, right of way access, and environmental concerns, among others.

When commercial property disputes arise, it is crucial to seek professional legal advice from a qualified commercial property dispute solicitor

There is no set length of time in which a commercial property dispute tends to reach resolution. How long it takes to resolve depends on a series of factors that are sensitive to each individual case.  Finding a resolution in such disputes typically takes longer in cases where there are more complex issues at play and where the parties are reluctant to seriously consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR) such as mediation.

It is therefore important to instruct solicitors at an early stage so that they can manage any animosity with the other side and encourage ADR, whilst giving you the right advice. This  will reduce the length of the dispute, and thereby, the cost of it. Seeking mediation or another form of ADR is always preferable if possible: the duration of a commercial property dispute becomes significantly longer if litigation is required.

Lease Disputes – these include disagreements over rent reviews or rent payments, lease renewals / terminations, assignment of leases, breaches of lease terms, dilapidation disputes and forfeiture and possession of property. Issues often arise over interpretation or enforcing obligations contained in a lease.

Property Sales and Purchases – disputes arise from transactions involving sale or purchase of commercial property. Common issues include misrepresentation, breaches of contract or disputes over completion or agreement over terms of sale.

Development disputes – issues over rights of land and land use such as disagreements over easements, restrictive covenants that affect use of commercial property and possibly even boundary disputes. These issues can affect the value and use of commercial property if not resolved.

Professional Negligence – Claims arise against professionals such as surveyors, valuers, architects and solicitors involved in any aspect of commercial property transactions or provision of advice. If the advice or actions cause financial loss, affected parties can claim damages for any losses that are incurred.

Insolvency related Issues – where tenants or commercial property owners face insolvency, litigation may help resolve the recovery of rent arrears or any other monies that are owed to creditors.

There are a number of ways that a commercial property dispute can be resolved without court proceedings being issued: this is called Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Informally, the parties can agree to hold a “roundtable” discussion where they (and their lawyers) can gather together to discuss the dispute and conduct negotiations.

The parties can engage in “Without Prejudice” correspondence via their lawyers through emails, letters and telephone, with the genuine intention of wanting to settle the claim on behalf of the parties.

More formal options include Arbitration – where an Arbitrator/panel of Arbitrators is appointed by the parties to listen to their case and make a binding ruling; this is similar to court in style but is designed to be quicker, more streamlined and cost-effective. This is usually more sensible for higher-value commercial property disputes.

Mediation is where the parties appoint an independent, entirely impartial Mediator to conduct “shuttle diplomacy” between the parties. The Mediator listens to the views of all involved and actively works to narrow the issues and encourage (but not push) the parties to reach settlement.

There are also options such as Early Neutral Evaluation, but this is relatively rare; it is far more common for the parties to engage in a route such as Mediation.

Ultimately, the most appropriate method of settling a commercial property dispute very much depends on the individual case. Seek professional advice as early into the process as possible to make sure that you are correctly approaching the right solution for you.

It is always difficult to predict legal costs exactly. However, our experience allows us to provide an accurate estimate as to the likely costs. The amount of costs varies for each case and is dependent upon many external factors which include the actions of the other parties.

Likely costs include:

• Solicitor costs, which cover the advice you receive as well as correspondence with the other side, and if necessary the court.
• Counsel fees for court or arbitration/mediation fees if you choose alternative dispute resolution.
• If necessary, the costs of consulting an expert. For example, in queries regarding property valuation or building surveying issues.

Again, these vary depending upon the amount of work required and the complexity of the matter.

If your claim proceeds to a final contested hearing and you are successful, you should be able to recover some of the costs that you have incurred.

At Hanne & Co, we use our experience of dealing with commercial property litigation to provide you with a detailed estimate as to the likely costs that would be incurred, as well as those that you may be able to recover.