Rent Review Procedure � Trigger Notices and Time of the Essence
Open market rent review procedure typically requires the landlord to serve a trigger notice proposing a new rent at or before the review date; the tenant serves a counter-notice to dispute. Time of the essence: under United Scientific Holdings Ltd v Burnley BC [1978] AC 904, rent review timetables are presumed not to be time of the essence unless the lease expressly so provides or the structure of the lease clearly implies it. A landlord who misses the trigger notice date is not normally barred from implementing the review later � but cannot backdate the new rent to the review date. Upward-only reviews: standard in most UK commercial leases � rent can never fall below the passing rent on review even if the open market rent has fallen. Scotland: s.9 Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985 similarly presumes rent review timetables are not time of the essence.
Assumptions, Disregards and Comparable Evidence
Assumptions: willing landlord and willing tenant; vacant possession; tenant's covenants fully performed; premises fit for use; new lease on same terms (including the same rent review clause). Disregards: tenant's actual occupation (tenant not penalised for being in situ); tenant's goodwill; improvements made by the tenant with landlord's consent at tenant's cost (prevents tenant from paying higher rent for improvements it has funded). Comparable evidence (RICS Red Book): surveyors must rely on the best available comparable evidence � actual lettings in the market; rent review settlements; arbitration awards. Comparables must be adjusted for differences in size, specification, location, terms, and incentives (rent-free periods, fit-out contributions) to produce a consistent net effective or headline rent comparison.