Advice, negotiation, professional assistance – A survival kit for beleaguered businesses.
The scenario:
The client was a sitting tenant under a farm business tenancy. Every four years, the landlord was entitled to review the rent. The tenant was given the chance to agree the increase or enter negotiations.
What happened?
In this case, the landlord wanted to increase the rent by a significant amount.
The tenant felt that the increase was disproportionate and could have led to the possible closure of his business.
Despite negotiations, there was no resolution.
The client contacted rradar under their policy and rradar assisted the client in arbitration and negotiation of the rent increase.
rradar instructed a land agent to assist in this process. The land agent’s fees were met by the policy.
The outcome
A rental increase that was acceptable to both parties was agreed, and the client was able to carry on farming, secure in the knowledge that the business was safe. Total cost for legal fees in the handling of this claim were just over £2,500.
Something to think about
Agricultural tenancy dispute cover is included under the pursuit cover of the Company Liability section from Rural Protect. Again, this is another area of cover we provide as standard in all policies.
Some companies that insure rent arbitration only cover when a point of arbitration is reached. Rural Protect provides cover from when a review of rent is required or requested by the land owner, prior to a point of arbitration.
Representation is provided at the review meetings stage up to £10,000 of legal costs in any one period of insurance.
Many rural businesses operate on a financial knife edge and any unexpected expense could cause real trouble. If your financial circumstances change suddenly, you’ll need expert advice to ensure that your business is protected.
