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Commercial Lease Law

Lease of Part — Letting Part of a Commercial Building UK Guide

A lease of part is a commercial lease of a defined portion of a building — for example, a single floor, an office suite, a retail unit within a shopping centre, or a workshop unit within an industrial estate. Unlike a whole-building letting, a lease of part requires: precise definition of the demise by reference to a floor plan and boundary convention; grant of sufficient access rights over common parts (entrance, lifts, staircases, car parking, loading bays) as easements or contractual licences; extensive landlord reserved rights (development rights; services maintenance; entry; signage control); service charge mechanism (apportioning common parts costs between all occupiers by floor area, rateable value, or fixed percentage); fire safety obligations on the landlord as responsible person for common parts under RRO 2005. Demise boundaries: internal face of external walls; centre line of internal walls shared with adjacent tenants; finished floor to underside of raised floor above (floor slab/ceiling void excluded). Access rights: entrance/lifts/staircases; car parking (allocated or unallocated); loading bays (hours/weight limits); toilets/welfare. Landlord reserved rights: development rights (extend/alter building); services running through demise; entry on notice; signage control; car parking management. Service charge: RICS Service Charge Code (2018) best practice; apportionment by floor area; accounts certified by independent accountant; cap/exclusions possible. Separate EPC required for each self-contained demised unit; MEES compliance required. LTA 1954: applies to commercial lease of part; must be contracted-out in same way as whole-building lease. Building Safety Act 2022: Principal Accountable Person obligations for higher-risk buildings (18m+/7 storeys). Scotland: Scottish commercial leases governed by Scots law; no LTA 1954; Scots law on implied terms and common parts differs from English law.

10 min readUpdated 7 June 2026Last reviewed: 17 May 2026lease-of-partmulti-let-buildingservice-chargecommon-parts

Defining the Demise in a Lease of Part

The extent of the demise must be defined with precision in a lease of part, by reference to a plan and boundary convention. Boundary conventions: internal face of external walls and structural elements; centre line of internal walls shared with other tenants; floor from finished floor surface to underside of raised floor above (not through the floor slab or ceiling void). Services within the demise: service pipes, ducts, and conduits exclusively serving the unit are normally included in the demise; shared services running through the demise remain the landlord's retained responsibility. The lease plan must be filed at the Land Registry on registration — must be drawn to an identifiable scale.

Access Rights, Service Charge and Reserved Rights

Access rights: granted as easements or contractual licences; scope must be defined precisely — entrance/lifts/staircases; car parking (allocated or unallocated; hours); loading bays (weight limits; hours); toilets and welfare facilities. Landlord reserved rights: development rights (build additional floors; alter common parts; add new tenants); services rights (lay/maintain service pipes through demise); entry on reasonable notice; signage control. Service charge: covers common parts maintenance; external walls/roof; lifts/plant; cleaning/security; insurance; management fee; apportioned by floor area as proportion of total lettable area or by fixed percentage; RICS Service Charge Code (2018). Separate EPC required for each let unit; MEES compliance required on letting/renewal. LTA 1954: applies to commercial lease of part; must be contracted-out in same way as whole-building lease.

Frequently asked questions

What is a lease of part in commercial property?+

A lease of part is a commercial lease of a defined portion of a building — for example, a single floor, a retail unit, or a workshop unit. The tenant's demise is precisely defined by reference to a plan and boundary convention, and the tenant is granted rights to use the building's common parts alongside other occupiers.

How is service charge apportioned in a lease of part?+

Service charge is typically apportioned by reference to each tenant's floor area (GIA or NIA) as a proportion of the total lettable floor area, or by a fixed percentage stated in the lease. Each tenant pays their proportionate share of the landlord's expenditure on common parts, building structure, plant, insurance, and management. The RICS Service Charge Code (2018) sets best practice.

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