Commercial Property & Conveyancing

Commercial property is buildings and land that are intended for profit-generating activities rather than regular residential purposes. Commercial property includes: office buildings, medical centres, hotels, retail stores, eateries, warehouses and garages.

Commercial conveyancing is similar to residential conveyancing - it is the process of transferring the title of a property from one person or company to another or dealing with commercial property title. Commercial conveyancing is usually carried out by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.

Commercial property solicitor's responsibilities and duties are varied, often spanning broad and complex caseloads. They represent a range of clients advising on matters such as:

• The sale and purchase of land or property
• Development, infrastructure and planning projects
• Property finance and investment
• Leasehold management
• Drafting, negotiating and completing leases and supporting documents
• Landlord and tenant disputes
• Regeneration projects
• Property litigation

Unlike with residential conveyancing where costs to be fixed fee, commercial property solicitors charge according to time spent on a matter. The hourly rate of a solicitor varies depending upon their level of experience and qualification.

We also provide an estimate at the outset of the transaction based upon the information to hand and will endeavor to keep costs within that estimate wherever possible.

A tax payable on transactions involving land. Available on both freehold and leasehold transactions. On freehold transactions it's payable by reference to the actual amount you pay. Whereas with leasehold transactions, if you're paying a premium for the lease and you're also paying rent then it will be payable on both. SDLT is calculated by reference to a formula which is quite complicated to use. In this case, will help people arrive at what's called the net present value and that's the value upon which the duty is chargeable.

Land is generally exempt, but a landowner or landlord can opt to tax the property in which case VAT will become payable. VAT is automatically payable on new build commercial property of less than three years and this needs to be factored in because it has an impact on stamp duty land tax payable in respect of the land as well.

If you're buying property, the main costs will be the premium or the purchase price of the property itself, you may also pay a premium for acquiring a lease. With a lease the main cost will be the rent and of course whether VAT is payable upon the rent. You also must consider service charge payments and surveyors fees in addition to legal fees and land registry fees.

Whether or not SDLT is payable on a commercial property is a matter of fact in each case. If the property is above a certain threshold, then SDLT will be payable. With leasehold properties care needs to be taken as it can also be payable on rent and the consideration. Whereas in the case of freehold properties on consideration only.