Module 4 · Chapter 10

Completion, Registration and the File

A lease binds when its two signed parts are dated and exchanged. This chapter shows how that happens, who must agree first, how the tenant registers the lease, and how the landlord's file is closed.

≈ 12 min read 8-question test

In this chapter

  • How two companies sign one lease, and when it binds them
  • What must be ready on completion day, including the bank's consent
  • How the lease is taxed, registered and diarised

10.1Completion in one paragraph

A ten-year lease must be made as a deed (a document signed with special formality). Each company signs its part in advance, and the solicitors hold the signed parts undated. At completion the two solicitors agree by telephone to date the parts, and from that moment both companies are bound for ten years.

Afterwards the tenant's solicitors pay the tax and register the lease. The landlord's solicitors check the register and close the file with a diary of every date that matters.

Key point

A lease binds when the parts are dated and exchanged. Signing does not bind anyone, and moving in does not either. Until completion, either side can still walk away.

Also in this chapter

  1. How two companies sign one lease
  2. Why the landlord's bank must agree first
  3. What happens on completion day
  4. Tax and registration: the tenant's work
  5. What the registers show
  6. The diary that runs the lease
  7. Your job

Preview

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