Duped by Landlord

[wonkeydonkey]

Have held a lease with LL for 18 years to a small village shop that we spent a fortune re-developing before it was fit for use. Ill health has forced the need to retire,we mentioned to LL we wanted to sell up.. His response was that we could not sell as the lease was not going to be on offer as the property was to be sold.( shop is attached to the house he lives in) We are due to close the shop on 30th March with rent paid until 30th April to give us time to clear the shop fittings/fixtures. Today we hear LL has done a deal with a new tenant to re-open the shop 1st May. LL thinks all F&F will remain on the premises as they are now his.
My question beingm is this legal as we had 3 people interested in buying the business and have lost out big time due to LL actions.

[atticus]

s37A Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 may help you: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga...56/section/37A

How strong is your evidence of what this landlord told you? Did he serve notices under the 1954 Act refusing a new tenancy?

[wonkeydonkey]

s37A Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 may help you: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga...56/section/37A

How strong is your evidence of what this landlord told you? Did he serve notices under the 1954 Act refusing a new tenancy?

Thank you very much for your swift response.

This is going to be a long post so please forgive me but, I thought it better to give as much info as possible from the outset.

We signed the lease with the original owner in 2006, her Land Agent ( she owned several properties) approved and witnessed it. Sadly the owner died (need to check date) and the property was left to her two sons one of which has now also died. At the time of her passing we were expecting to have to sign a new lease with the son's but nothing materialised nor was anything mentioned, we just continued to pay the rent in cash on the due date.(this was the owners preferred method of payment)

We are both in our seventies and our health is poor, our original plan was to sell up when it got to much for us and take retirement. This was muted around and at this point two of the girls we employ expressed their interest in buying us out as did another villager. It was then that the son quipped there were now three parties (his late brothers sons) involved and a new lease was not up for discussion. It is such that the villagers were also told this when a suggestion of making it into acommunity shop arose so it seems were the last to know.We were told indirectly the third parties want the property sold and the 'landlord' confirmed this to be the case, hence no lease and ability to sell up.

During the time we have held the lease there has been no rent book, no receipt for rent paid, no notice served. Only notice was what he had told us (the lease was not up for renewal) which is the same as he has told interested purchasers and villagers.A new lease has now been agreed (along with an increase to rent) with another local buisnessman..



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[atticus]

You will need to write down and otherwise collate full details of what this landlord said and when he said it.

Do you have anything in writing, such as emails or text or WhatsApp messages?

[wonkeydonkey]

Landlord rarely spoke with us and getting anything from him was like pulling teeth. It is very much the case that he verbally told us (about a year ago) there would be no further leases issued. Our staff have been the piggies in the middle,he berates them to pass messages on but never communicates with us directly. We have had staff in tears over his attitude towards them he has within the last 48hrs been in the shop demanding a staff member obtains written notice of the last day of trading and when we are returning keys.Strange behaviour since he has our phone number? I feel we should just cut our losses and go but, I also want to fight him over this as we invested heavily in that business.

[atticus]

Get it all written down. Who said what to whom and when.

And see a solicitor.

[wonkeydonkey]

Thank you, we have been advised to start the ball rolling with a letter before notice/action, keep it short and sweet without giving to much info as depending on his reply (if any) we will make full statement in claim. Thank you again for your input.