Rent Review 
Rent Review |
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Arbitrator or Independent Expert?The lease should specify how the matter is to be dealt with in the event of failure to agree by the parties. In the majority of leases an Arbitrator is to be agreed or appointed by a nominated person, usually the President for the time being of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.The Arbitration process is an informal Court procedure and typically the parties will make representations to the Arbitrator setting out their claims; the views will be exchanged either in written form or at a hearing and afterwards the opportunity will arise to make counter representations. The Arbitrator will then adjudicate on the rent to be paid with effect from the review date, based on the evidence only. Occasionally an independent expert is specified; this is someone who has expertise in the subject type of property. The procedure is similar to that at Arbitration with an expert usually calling for representations, exchanging them and then making his determination using the evidence and his expertise. Professional RepresentationThere is never an obligation on either landlord or tenant to be represented during the rent review process. However expert advice and a technique in negotiating is often desirable and in some cases essential to ensure that the end result is fully in line with expectations. The available evidence must be weighed and adjusted to provide a useful basis for valuation.Although informal compared to legal proceedings, should the matter proceed to determination by a third party, representation by a surveyor is almost essential; as with any quasi-judicial procedure the evidence needs to be placed before the Arbitrator or Expert in a way that can be easily interpreted to stand the best chance of success. A surveyor is well placed to present specific evidence of comparable transactions and set out an interpretation of the lease in the most favourable light. FeesBefore the abolition of fee scales, surveyors would seek a sum based on a percentage of the final rent agreed which included the base rent already being paid.Most landlords resent having to pay a fee on a rent already passing whilst most tenants are quick to point out that the higher the rent agreed the more the surveyor is able to charge; hardly conducive to a fair settlement. At Michael Parkes we prefer to charge fees which are incentive related so that the better the gain for the client, the higher our fee. This can take the form of a sliding scale on the rent increase or amount saved with an additional fixed fee only payable if the matter is referred to a third party for determination. Contact John Lehan at our Head Office Michael Parkes Surveyors Limited Reading House Waterside Court Neptune Close Rochester Kent ME2 4NZ Telephone: 01634 294994 Facsimile: 01634 295372 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |