Commercial rental property issue

the little lad

Good evening,

A business in my village was closing down. When I found out that they were closing I decided to contact the owner and ask if I could lease it. I was told that the current business pays rent on a month by month basis and once they vacate the premises I can continue to rent it.

i asked do I need to sign a contract or anything and the owner said that as long as I continue to pay the rent each month I can stay and that I didn’t need a contract. I would have liked a contract but in other ways I was happy that I could continue on a month by month basis that if anything didn’t work out I could let them know and then leave after a month.

I paid the rent and moved in on the 1st of May. This morning the business joined onto my unit changed all the locks on my unit. He has told me he needs this unit for his business and the landlord said he could.

i contacted the landlord straight away and he said he shouldn’t have and that he would contact him and get back to me. I didn’t hear back and rang him again an hour later. He said that he hadn’t got hold of him and as soon as he did he would ring me.

I heard nothing back. I rang him again at 2 and got no answer. I rang him again at 4 and he said that the guy next door needed to use it straight away for his business. When I questioned him he said there was nothing he could do. When I asked about the stock and fittings in the unit I was told that the guy next door will keep them until I can find somewhere to move them to.

because I don’t have a written contract do I have any rights at all?

I paid the rent for the month so surely I have every right to stay there till the very least the end of this month.

where do I stand and what would you recommend I do?

all advice greatly appreciated.

im extremely stressed and anxious and don’t know what to do.

3DataModem

There's one thing not clear from your post;

• Did you buy the business that was renting the unit i.e. do you own all the stock and fittings in the unit, and do you have a contract or receipt for that?

the little lad

Hi.

The original business closed and when they moved out they took everything with them and when I moved in I filled the unit up with my own stock, fixtures and fittings.