Cheated by the sellers conveyancing solicitor

[Littlepig]

I've been a tenant of a small commercial property for 21 years. My landlord gave a deed of surrender back to the land owner.
The new land /property owner wanted to sell to me for £15000 and me cover her costs.

I instructed a solicitor and everything should have been straightforward.

Her solicitor then informed mine several weeks later the sale was off,spoke with seller she told me she had a better offer and that was that no negotiation no nothing.

So no right of first refusal act was initiated
(if I was entitled to that right?)

I've just found out her solicitor has bought it for the same price as I offered and used his own firm and partners to carry out the conveyancing it was all done in the same firm.

Now he's my landlord iand is suggesting that any tenancy agreement I have will not be legal and us stating my original landlord had to legal right to rent to me in the first place?

Why did he make her sign a deed of surrender then?

According to the SRA's website he seems to have breached just about every code of conduct regarding conflict of interest

Now if I rock the boat I get kicked out

[echat11]

That does break the Solicitors Code of Conduct, 1 / 6. Is a lot of the summary above documented?

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/st...ct-solicitors/

[islandgirl]

That is awful. It seems you will get kicked out anyway so report! What do you have to lose? And look for somewhere else in the meantime.

[echat11]

R0b
pt2537

[Littlepig]

Hi Guys thanks for your reply

Firstly yes all documented by emails between myself and the sellers solicitor, for the time being he says I can stay but not sure what his plans are for any rent increase or any length of tenancy but has said he disputes my tenancy agreement.
it's not that easy to find anywhere local to me of this scale for the same price I have been paying in rent.
If I am or was entitled to the First right of refusal act the seller can be taken to court and fined and the court can award the property back to me at the price paid.
so I'm led to believe..
I can't or I'm scared to take him on as he is still in control as he's my landlord

[islandgirl]

I understand it is difficult but you have 2 choices. Make the choice to fight this and risk being thrown out or stay where you are for now and probably be thrown out anyway and / or given a huge rent increase. Neither choice is ideal or what you would want and it is a very difficult situation.

[Littlepig]

I've also got a copy of the TR1

[CharlieP]

Uneducated input here. Would it be wise to drop a hint that you know they have broken the code of conduct? They might go a bit easier on you in relation to eviction or price hikes.

[echat11]

You have everything you need to challenge this, find somewhere else you can use on a 'just in case basis' as IslandGirl says.

I doubt he would be stupid to try anything else as he and the landlord have 'run roughshod' over your rights.

https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreute...20the%20tenant.

[echat11]

Uneducated input here. Would it be wise to drop a hint that you know they have broken the code of conduct? They might go a bit easier on you in relation to eviction or price hikes.

But for how long? Once the dust has 'settled'? The OP has worked there for 21 years and wants to continue working there.

[echat11]

Standard Clauses for use in a commercial lease where the landlord grants the tenant a right of first refusal (ROFR) to purchase the real property where the leased premises are located. A ROFR is a type of preemptive right and generally favors the tenant. These clauses define the tenant's right of first refusal, including the landlord's rights depending on whether the tenant exercises the right to purchase the property, waives the right to purchase, or fails to respond to the landlord's notice of a proposed sale. Though leases are primarily governed by state and local laws, this jurisdictionally-neutral template is useful and relevant to landlords and tenants in every state. These Standard Clauses have integrated notes with important explanations and drafting and negotiating tips for both parties.

[echat11]

What did your solicitor say or do about this?

[Littlepig]

It is just a single story flat roof commercial premises used by me for business purposes with two other vacant units with a shared driveway access
my solicitor who I instructed for the purchase said

He sent me a copy of the TR1 to show me, he and wife who's a partner in the firm, that shows they are the legal owner, who the seller was and who she used for conveyancing who was another partner in the firm,the title number however does not show in red my premises,only half of one unit and across the driveway access?

The best way to describe it would to imagine that there's an invisible wall from oneside to the other that would prevent access to my unit and others, it's only part of what should be the full title to land and property?
Or that the title/property has been split?
there's nothing else on land registry yet to state anything else

In regards to the position of the sellers solicitor buying the property, this is an unusual situation and may be something you should seek advice from the SRA the regulators who implement the code of conduct that a solicitor must follow. At this stage I am not sure what we could do in this instance.

However as a tenant you should be notified of any change in your landlord. As I listed previously I can review the lease and the landlord registry title and report to you what we find?

My hourly fee is £295.00 plus VAT. A review of your lease and obtaining the office copies for the land to see if we can clarify the position will be 1-2 hours work depending on how complex the title register is.

Where you go from there will probably dependent on your lease terms, I would expect you to have the right to renew your lease when the current term ends, but I will need to review the same to confirm. However there are statutory procedures for a landlord to reject an application to renew a lease, however this may require the landlord to pay you compensation if this was to happen. All these points require a review of the lease.

It's only a 5 page RICS tenancy agreement

[Littlepig]

I'm thinking sending me the wrong title number could be a decoy to test my intentions? (Thinking from all angles)
Surely he wouldn't just forget about his duties of care to clients or others and the odes of ethics and the SRA
it's all very odd

[DE DOGS]

Mother had a similar situation, this was 55 years ago but still sticks in my memory, Mum found a property (house), and at the time was not aware that a very large plot of land that went with the sale, offer accepted, notified the Solicitor to complete. Low and behold Solicitor purchased the property, Mum was not aware that she had any chance of objecting, and so WERE THERE IS MONEY INVOLVED, THE RATS COME OUT OF THE SEWER.