STANDARDS: landlords to sign up to business lease code


City property lawyers have welcomed the creation of a new quality mark to improve transparency and raise standards in the commercial property sector.



The British Property Federation launched the commercial landlords accreditation scheme (CLAS) last week - a self-certifying scheme open to all commercial landlords in England and Wales.



Under CLAS, landlords will have to sign up to the business lease code, published last March, and abide by four other rules, enforceable via a disciplinary process by the CLAS Standards Board.



The government-backed scheme has been devised by the Owners' and Occupiers' Property Forum, headed by the former director of the Office of Fair Trading and OFTEL, Sir Bryan Carsberg.



Ingrid Stables, a professional support lawyer in the real estate team at Lovells, said the government had threatened to legislate if it perceived that landlords were not treating tenants fairly. This move was intended to stave off government intervention.



She said CLAS would give more bite to voluntary self-regulation in the sector and demonstrated that landlords were being proactive in promoting efficiency and fairness.



'This will guarantee that CLAS-badged landlords provide a range of tenant-friendly leasing options and ensure that tenants get a fair deal,' she added.



Jane Fox-Edwards, head of real estate litigation at LG, said CLAS gave teeth to the leasehold code and demonstrated to the government that the property industry was able to regulate itself.



She said lawyers, particularly when acting for smaller businesses, needed to make their clients aware of the code and the accreditation scheme, so they either choose landlords who are accredited or persuade others to sign up.



Catherine Baksi