A landlord has suggested using Aqqord for a new lease, and the tenant has a solicitor, or would like one. This explains how the lease is drafted, how the tenant and their solicitor can review it, and how changes are dealt with.
Who Aqqord acts for
Aqqord is a commercial lease platform for England and Wales, built and configured by SRA-regulated solicitors. Aqqord Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA ID 8008171).
We don’t act for the landlord or the tenant, and we don’t give legal advice to either. Both parties use the platform for the same purpose, turning the deal they’ve agreed into a lease, and both see the same document. It makes no difference which of them set the lease up.
How the lease is drafted
The lease is generated from the heads of terms: the rent, the length of the lease, the start date, any break, rent reviews, any rent-free period or deposit, the permitted use, and whether the lease is contracted out of the security of tenure provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
The wording that turns those terms into a lease was drafted by senior commercial property solicitors and negotiated to be fair to both sides. Every lease on the platform is drafted to the same standard, appropriate for the property.
Reviewing the lease
The tenant’s solicitor is welcome to review both the heads of terms and the lease. The tenant can give their solicitor access to them on the platform, so the solicitor sees the same documents the tenant does. If you’d like help setting that up, call us on 0800 161 3800.
Many points a solicitor might raise are changes to the terms of the deal, such as a different rent-free period, a break at another date, a cap on rent review increases, or a different permitted use. On Aqqord these are made by changing the heads of terms. Once both parties agree the change, the lease updates with the matching wording.
Independent advice
Many tenants complete a lease on Aqqord without a solicitor. Any tenant who wants independent advice is entitled to it, and can pause the process at any point while their solicitor looks at the lease.
Signing and the fee
When both parties are happy, the landlord and the tenant each sign through the platform. They are the parties to the lease and they are the ones who sign it; Aqqord doesn’t sign or complete anything on anyone’s behalf.
Aqqord’s fee is £375 + VAT per party. That’s £750 + VAT per lease, split 50/50 or however the landlord and the tenant agree. It’s charged only once the lease is agreed, and if it isn’t agreed neither side pays anything. A tenant’s own solicitor charges separately.
FAQ
No. Aqqord doesn’t act for either party or give legal advice to either. Both parties use the platform on the same footing.
Yes. The tenant can give their solicitor access to the heads of terms and the lease on the platform.
Changes to the commercial terms are made in the heads of terms, and the lease updates once both parties agree.
The landlord and the tenant, as the parties. Aqqord doesn’t sign or complete anything on anyone’s behalf.
Questions about how the process works: 0800 161 3800 or info@aqqord.com.
Aqqord Limited is registered in England with company number 11726777 and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA ID 8008171).
