Village Hall

[susannicola]

Hello our local Village hall is a registered charity to help fund the hall they let a room to a hairdresser she is now sub letting to nail artists and beauticians the committee have told her that she is breaking her contract but she has said to them she can do what she likes as she pays the rent, can someone advise please

[Kati]

can you upload a redacted copy of the contract she will have signed? Or type out the wording?

[susannicola]

The contract is at Village hall but it states only leased as a Hairdresser

[Kati]

des8 R0b jaguarsuk ... any ideas??

[des8]

It really does all depend on the wording of the lease.
In a lease of commercial property, whether a tenant can sub-let its property will depend on what the lease does or doesn’t say. If the lease contains no provisions dealing with alienation, the tenant will be free to sublet. However, this is rare and most leases will contain detailed provisions dealing with sub-letting.

[susannicola]

T xhank you the contract didnt state anything about sub letting but only that the room was let as a Hairdressers its now sub let to a nail technician, tanning, and tattooed eyebrows as well as hairdresser the committee are now going to have a new contract done as they had free utillities and wifi but hall only leased room to help keep hall open but its costing more than her minimal rent as its open early morning till 10pm

[des8]

Does the original tenant agree to the new contract?
Are there variation or cancellation clauses in the original contract?

Did the committee draw up the original contract, without realising all the implications?
If the lease specified the use as a hairdresser the committee's written consent for any other use would probably be required, although it could be sublet to other hairddressers.
I don't frequent hairdressers (follicly challenged) so don't know if other beauticians are now considered to be part of a hairdressing salon!

[susannicola]

Yes the committee did do original contract there is some clauses in but we have now had to ask a solicitor tow do a new contract she has not signed new one yet but we are having an electric meter installed on wednesday for use in her salon we are only a small village hall that is run by volunteers no help from anyone the hall belongs to the Village, also we didnt realise the implications of letting the room x

[des8]

Don't want to frighten you, but did the committee make enquiries about possible need for planning permission for change of use and effect that might have on business rates?
Hopefully they did, and perhaps it makes no difference. I don't know ..... just wondering.

[R0b]

As Des has correctly pointed out, whether or not she was allowed to sublet the room will depend on the exact wording and nature of what was intended. All well and good speculating but unless you are able to provide us with a copy of the terms and conditions, its really difficult to say whether she is in breach of the arrangement. Unless the contract specifically excluded the subletting and/or use of the room other than for cutting hair, the hairdresser could argue that all these services being offered fall within the definition of a hairdressing salon.

If the village hall is not happy with what she is doing then you may have to terminate the contract (if that is possible, you should check the terms) and then offer her a new one contract which specifically identifies what services can be carried out and any other additional services must have the village halls consent in writing and which can be revoked at any time (I would expect the solicitor who is drafting the new contract to put something like that in there assuming you've made it clear what is acceptable and what isn't).

Another good point by Des is making sure the village hall has got the relevant consents for change of use, if not they could be in breach, and then in further breach of contract with the hairdresser!

[susannicola]

Yes we have permission from council, she pays her own business rates we had council out to measure the room before she started, her contract states Hairdresser nothing else that is all she has done for over a year now she is sub letting to anyone who wants to be in shop all at Village Halls expense if it keeps going we will close.

[des8]

Well it certainly seems that she has breached the terms of her lease if she is allowing activities other than hairdressing to be followed.
Certainly seems to be taking advantage of what was (and hopefully will become again) a mutually beneficial friendly arrangement.
Trust you keep your hall afloat.

[R0b]

Yes we have permission from council, she pays her own business rates we had council out to measure the room before she started, her contract states Hairdresser nothing else that is all she has done for over a year now she is sub letting to anyone who wants to be in shop all at Village Halls expense if it keeps going we will close.

Until we see the terms of the contract, not much I can add to my last post. If you honestly believe she is in breach of contract then you should look to terminate the agreement and give her the required notice under the contract to leave. If there is no notice period in the contract then reasonable notice would suffice depending on how long she has been there.

[jaguarsuk]

I think identifying what the issue is here might be key to a successful conclusion for all concerned as the additional services seem to be what most salons would offer these days and she is obviously trying to have a successful business. Her success in turn could spell success for the Village Hall, so perhaps adjusting the rent more towards the actual cost with provisions for you to give permissions in a new contract is the best way forward.

What I would say is that bad blood occurs when decisions seem arbitrary. In other words she perceives that you think she's making more money and as a result you want a bigger cut.

My personal approach would be to talk to her, let her know that the opening times are considerably different to those envisaged as a result of her growth and that makes the current rental nonviable for the hall so the increase is purely to cover the increased costs.

At the end of the day the village hall is a charity trust and therefore if it's losing money there is only a certain amount available to cover those loses. Once that reserve dries up the hall can no longer operate and in turn neither could her business.

By agreeing to the increase she's essentially investing in the viability of the building she trades from and ensuring that her continued success isn't at risk of ending longer term for what would be a short sighted gain.

[ploddertom]

Our Village Hall has similar and although we don't have the problems you do we also had to notify & get permission from the Charity Commission. Not sure of the ins & outs of it but it was to protect the Hall in case something went wrong.