Commercial Lease Agreement Template (UK)

A commercial lease agreement is the contract a business signs to rent premises — a shop, office, warehouse or industrial unit — from a landlord. It fixes the term, the rent, who repairs what, the permitted trade and what happens when the term ends. Getting that framework in writing before either side is committed is what a commercial lease agreement template for the UK is for.

In England and Wales the document does more legal work than most people expect. Under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, a tenancy of premises occupied for business purposes does not simply end on the date written in the lease: section 24 keeps it running until it is ended in one of the ways the Act allows, and either the tenant or the landlord can apply to the court for the grant of a new tenancy.

This page is about commercial property; for residential lettings, see the tenancy agreement template. Where the business taking the lease is a company rather than a sole trader, our free articles of association template covers the company's own internal rulebook.

Contracting out and the term of years certain

Section 38A(1) lets the parties agree that sections 24 to 28 will not apply — but only for a tenancy granted for a term of years certain, and only if a prescribed procedure is followed first. There are two alternative procedures, and which one you are in depends on how much warning the tenant gets:

The landlord serves a warning notice in the form, or substantially the form, set out in Schedule 1 to the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003.
If that notice is served at least 14 days before the tenant enters into the lease or, if earlier, becomes contractually bound to do so, the tenant makes a simple declaration in the prescribed form before that point.
If those 14 days are not available, the notice must still be served before the tenant is bound, and the tenant must instead make a statutory declaration before that time.
A reference to the notice and the declaration, and the exclusion agreement itself, must then be contained in or endorsed on the lease.

The first three steps must all be completed before the tenant is contractually bound; the endorsement at step 4 goes on the lease itself. Miss a step, or take them in the wrong order, and section 38A(3) makes the exclusion agreement void — the lease still stands, but it keeps full security of tenure under Part II and the tenant can apply for a new tenancy when the term ends.

Who this template is for

Taking your first shop, café, studio or office after outgrowing home working.
Letting a spare floor or unit of your building to another business.
Granting a short let where the landlord must get the premises back — exactly what contracting out is for.
Renewing an expiring lease on updated rent, repair or break terms.
Taking premises that need fit-out works before trading — the building work is a separate agreement with its own construction contract template; the lease deals with the letting itself.

The clauses that do the real work

Parties and premises — exactly what is let, including shared areas and parking.
Term and break clause — dates, who may break, on what notice and conditions.
Rent and rent review — amount, payment dates and the review mechanism.
Security of tenure statement — inside or outside Part II of the 1954 Act.
Repairing obligation — full repairing and insuring (FRI) or internal only; add a schedule of condition on an older building.
Service charge and insurance — what the landlord recharges and any cap.
Permitted use — too narrow depresses assignment value; too wide unsettles neighbours.
Alienation — whether the tenant may assign or sublet, and whose consent is needed.
Rent deposit or guarantee — the security the landlord holds and when it is released.
Forfeiture — the landlord's right of re-entry for unpaid rent or breach.

Common mistakes

Serving the warning notice after the tenant is already committed — an agreement for lease signed first defeats the exclusion.
Using the simple declaration on fewer than 14 days' notice; short notice requires the statutory declaration.
Trying to contract out of a tenancy that is not for a term of years certain — section 38A(1) only permits exclusion for a fixed term, so loose drafting about how long the term runs can defeat the whole exercise.
Using a residential tenancy agreement for business premises — homes sit under a different statutory regime, so use a tenancy agreement template for those instead.
Accepting full repairing terms on a tired building with no schedule of condition — handing back better premises than you took.

England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The framework above is England and Wales. The differences elsewhere are substantive.

Scotland: the 1954 Act states in terms that it does not extend to Scotland, so none of the contracting-out machinery above applies — there is no warning notice and no declaration. Two things take its place. First, the common-law doctrine of tacit relocation: unless valid notice is given in good time before the end date, the lease does not stop but continues automatically on the same terms. Second, a narrower statutory scheme survives for shops. Under the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act 1949, a tenant of premises consisting of a shop who is given notice of termination and cannot obtain a renewal on satisfactory terms may apply to the sheriff for a renewal of up to one year, and must apply no later than 21 days after the notice is served. Further renewals can be sought after that. “Shop” is read more broadly than the word suggests, so cafés and similar premises may qualify — take Scottish advice rather than assuming you are outside it. The notice periods that prevent tacit relocation vary with the type and size of the letting and are not set out here; that deadline is the one to diarise, because missing it is what continues the lease. A Scots commercial lease is a different document, not a relabelled English one.

Northern Ireland: the 1954 Act does not extend here either. The Business Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 creates its own regime — a tenancy within it continues until terminated in accordance with the Order, and renewal disputes go to the Lands Tribunal. Article 24 voids most agreements that purport to preclude a person from making an application or request under the Order, subject to limited exceptions such as an agreement to surrender under Article 25, so the England-and-Wales warning-notice route has no equivalent. Where a landlord needs the premises back, the route is different in kind: the Order simply does not apply to a tenancy granted for a term certain not exceeding nine months, unless the tenant's occupation — together with any period a predecessor in the same business was in occupation — exceeds 18 months.

Frequently asked questions

What does contracting out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 mean?

The parties agree, before the lease is entered into, that the renewal rights in sections 24 to 28 will not apply: the tenant has no statutory right to a new tenancy when the term ends. It is available only for a tenancy granted for a term of years certain, and only if the warning notice and declaration came first.

What happens if the contracting-out procedure is done wrong?

The exclusion agreement is void under section 38A(3), but the lease itself stands. The tenancy therefore keeps its security of tenure under Part II, so the tenant can apply for a new tenancy when the term ends. The sequence matters more than the wording.

Does a commercial lease need to be registered?

In England and Wales, the grant of a lease out of registered land for a term of more than seven years must be completed by registration at HM Land Registry, and does not operate at law until the registration requirements are met. A lease that takes effect in possession more than three months after it is granted is registrable whatever its length.

Statutory references on this page were checked against primary sources (legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK, HSE, ICO and Acas) on 8 August 2026. Our templates themselves are not solicitor-drafted — see the note below.

This page is legal information, not legal advice.

Dogetlawyer is a Legal-Technology platform, not a law firm.

Our templates are not solicitor-drafted and have not been checked against primary sources. They are starting points to adapt, not finished documents.

This page describes the law of England and Wales unless it says otherwise. For anything significant, consider taking advice from a qualified professional.

How to get the template

The Commercial Lease Agreement Template is one of around 114 free UK legal templates from Dogetlawyer, a Legal-Technology platform. Browse every title on the free UK legal contract templates A–Z index; downloading takes a free account, not a payment.

If whoever is committing the business cannot sign in person, the arrangement for someone else to sign on their behalf is a general power of attorney.