Paying off a lease term early

harderthanf

Looking for some general opinions. Let say one has a 10 year lease on a business premises. To make the maths easy lets also say they are paying €10,000 per year.

After 5 years (and assuming there is no option , at this stage for rent review) , can the client pay, upfront, the €50,000 that is left of the lease and exit? That is, is a lease fullfilled once the term is reached or once the agreed fee is paid.

I realise this depends soley on the contract, but without this being specifically mentioned in a contract, is there any default "rule" to dictate this?

thanks.

3DataModem

In residential property in Ireland it is generally accepted (in my experience) that paying off a lease in the way you have suggested above can basically end the lease. This is mostly accepted practice not any rule AFAIK.

HOWEVER I am not sure how it applies to commercial property. The main issue with any property is that a tenants obligations don't end at paying the rent, they are also obliged to keep the place in good order, secure, etc. A vacant property can have leaks, break-ins, etc... and a property being vacant for an extended period generally will invalidate insurance. Is it possible that a landlord could claim that the tenant cannot renege on these obligations even with the rent paid? That's a question for a solicitor.

Claw Hammer

There is no right to terminate a lease early. The lease can be surrendered or forfeit in the case of a commercial lease. besides the payment of rent there are other covenants the landlord may want enforced such as maintenance insurance and rates so paying the rent in itself does not end the lease. In most cases if the landlord is approached an asked to accept a surrender of the lease deal can be worked out.