Office Tenancies at Will and Licences

Business premises are usually occupied under a lease. A lease is a formal arrangement whereby a tenant has exclusive use of the premises for a specified period of time. Leases usually contain detailed provisions as to what a tenant must and must not do in order to protect the value of the landlord’s interest in the premises and some forms of lease allow a tenant a right to renew a lease at the end of the original lease term.  This is known as security of tenure.

These Office Tenancies at Will and Licences can be used when a business is only going to occupy the premises for a short time (say, less than 6 months) or if the parties are still negotiating lease terms, but the prospective tenant needs to occupy the premises immediately. They offer a wide variety of office types and cover self-contained office buildings, shared buildings and offices over shops.  The licences can be used for furnished or unfurnished serviced office suites within a larger building. template.

A tenancy at will is a more flexible, informal arrangement that allows a business tenant to use a property on more basic terms and for no fixed duration.  It can be terminated by either party at any time without notice. It is therefore only suitable for very short term arrangements.  

A licence is similar to a lease in that it has a fixed term but it does not provide an interest in land.  The licensee has no right to renew at the end of the fixed term.  An arrangement is a lease if the occupier has exclusive possession of premises for a fixed term and as such a licence is more suitable for use where only certain parts of a property are to be used for a specific purpose. As an example, a licence may be appropriate where a landlord is located at the property and providing serviced office accommodation, hot-desking and similar.  

Care should also be taken that a licence cannot be interpreted as a lease.  If an occupier has exclusive possession of the premises then such an arrangement is a lease whether or not the parties call it a lease or licence.   A court might decide that the licensee is really a tenant who has security of tenure.   If there is any doubt as to whether a proposed arrangement will be a lease or a licence, the safest approach is to grant a lease which excludes the tenant’s right to security of tenure.

Other business leases, tenancies at will and licences specifically geared to the letting of industrial units, agricultural land, shops & restaurants and to charities are also available.

Please click on the links below to view the available documents.

For use in England and Wales only

• Tenancy at Will for a Self-Contained Office Building
• Tenancy at Will for Office(s) within a Shared Building
• Tenancy at Will for Office over a Shop
• Licence to use Furnished and Serviced Office Suite (with Inclusive Rent)
• Licence to use Furnished and Serviced Office Suite (with Service Charge)

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