Setting up lease terms for UK commercial or mixed-use properties in Re-Leased requires careful attention to legal requirements — specifically, the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954. This guide will walk you through how to correctly configure a term as either inside or outside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, and how that setting affects invoice generation, holding over, and reporting.
Understanding the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954
When setting up a lease or tenancy for a UK commercial or mixed-use property, you’ll need to indicate whether the term is governed by the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954. This selection determines whether the tenant has a statutory right to renew and how the system will treat the term after it expires.
Terms Outside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954
- Terms marked as outside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 cannot be placed into hold over status after their expiry date.
- Rent and service charge invoices will stop generating automatically once the term ends.
Terms Inside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 with Hold Over
- If a term is marked as inside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, you can enable hold over when the lease reaches its expiry date.
- Once holding over is activated, invoices for rent and service charges will continue to generate and include a ‘Without Prejudice’ statement on the PDF version of each invoice.
- This notice helps preserve the legal rights of both landlord and tenant while discussions about renewal are ongoing.
- To learn how to enable hold over for a term, see: Holding Over a Term
Note: The ‘Without Prejudice’ label is automatically applied to invoices generated in Re-Leased. If you use Xero or QuickBooks Online, you will need to manually update your invoice templates in those platforms to reflect this notice.
Viewing the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 Status in Reports
To check whether your lease terms are set as inside or outside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954:
- Navigate to the Reports section.
- Select the Tenancy Schedule report.
- Review the “Act status” column to see whether each term is inside or outside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954.
Summary
Configuring your lease terms correctly in relation to the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 is essential for compliance in the UK. It ensures accurate invoice generation, enables hold over when appropriate, and aligns your reporting with legislative requirements. Taking this step early helps protect both landlord and tenant rights throughout the tenancy lifecycle.
Regional Terminology
Note: The Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 applies only to UK commercial property leases. Terminology may differ by region. For more information, see our Glossary of Regional Terminology.